Freedom of the Wolf
by candelifera
Summary: A/U Paul is sick of being the center of torment for the pack and when his opportunity comes to escape from La Push he takes it without hesitation, becoming the man he always dreamed he would become.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter One

I stared at the multiple acceptance letters in shock and happiness. Everyone who knew me thought that I was just one of those drop-kick guys that would end up doing nothing with their life, probably serving time or working in a fast food restaurant. No one knew that, despite how much school I actually missed, I was actually smart and wanted to go to university and study.

And at this moment in time I was holding two letters that provided that future I desperately wanted.

Ever since becoming a werewolf I had begun to loose hope that I would, one day, end up studying medicine. My once calm temper had exploded into thick resentment that my life had changed for the worst. There were no bonuses to being a werewolf; no privacy, no choice and no free will. Every wolf in the pack has to listen to the alpha and for us that meant following Sam Uley's every word.

This did nothing to resolve my explosive temper and it wasn't an uncommon past time for some of the others in the pack to deliberately provoke me for their amusement. They had even made a game out of it and keeping track of who was in the lead; 10 points if I start glaring, 30 points if I try to hit one of them, 50 if I start shaking and finally, 100 points if I phase.

And here I thought being in a pack was supposed to be like having a family. Some family they are.

I groaned, flopping down on my bed and staring at the letters; both were offering me a full scholarship, and it was the only way I could afford to go. I wouldn't have to pay for accommodation, the school offered dorm rooms with the scholarship, and my text books would be supplied too.

I bet you're all wondering what the big deal is. I should be happy; I got in to two different universities with full scholarships. But things aren't always so simple. I had spoken to Sam before about me leaving if I got my scholarship, and it was my mistake of mentioning it in front of the rest of the pack.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Paul, we can't afford to lose anyone, especially with the threat of the leeches around." Sam had said, smiling unsympathetically.

Everyone knew that he would never let any of us leave to have a life outside of being a werewolf, everyone knowing that he's still bitter that he had to stay and play alpha.

"Paul wants to go to university?" Quil had asked, snorting with laughter, "To study what? The art of phasing?" His comments were followed by the howling laughter from Jacob and Embry.

I had clenched my hands by my sides, trying to keep as calm as I could to prevent their words from being true. "I want to study medicine." I said after a moment, my voice surprisingly calm.

However, staying calm wasn't fun enough for them. Of course they had to stir me up to get their amusement out of it. "_You_ want to be a doctor?" Embry asked incredulously.

Jacob laughed loudly, "Yeah right Paul. As if anyone would let _you_ help them with their medical problems. If anything, you'd just add to the list of a person needing medical attention."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

I had left quickly after that, knowing that their words would quickly have me running through the forest on four legs and covered in fur. I hate to admit it, but they're all right; how could I ever hope to be a doctor when I can't even stay calm for five minutes after being in the same room as other people? Being a doctor had always been the one thing that I knew I could reach; I had the intelligence and the memory to be successful but my people skills and anger management were nothing more than piles of dust.

But now that I had the letters I could do something. Sam didn't need me amongst the others; the pack size had doubled over the past year with the Cullens back in town. Jacob was his second in command and patrols were given to all of the younger pack members.

I got up and began to pace around my room; if Sam knew that I was planning on going to university he would order me to stay. I had to be discreet about this which meant one thing.

No phasing.

It was easy enough to do now. I didn't patrol anymore and the only vampire activity around here was the Cullens and they basically took care of any vampires that came their way. I glanced back down at the letters, considering my options. Washington University was the closest but still far enough and one in New York which was well known and had a high medical facility.

New York it was.

After ringing to accept my position in the class I searched through anger management courses that were close to the university. I had considered taking a course over the past year yet the mere thought of that crossing through my mind left me listening to the ridicules of every member of the pack, snickering at my desire to remain calm.

They all knew how to alienate someone, that's for sure.

"Paul, are you home?" Mum yelled out, the front door slamming behind her.

I grabbed the letters and went down the stairs to greet her. She had wanted me to go to university since I was a kid and when she had found out about the specific part of my gene that I had inherited she had lost all hope that I would have the time and chance to go.

I raced down the stairs, a smile on my face and for the first time in months, it didn't feel forced, "I'll get those Mom." I said, taking the bags from her easily.

She looked at me curiously obviously wondering what my good mood was caused by, "What has got you in such a good mood?" She asked after a moment, watching me put away the shopping.

"I've got some good news." I said slowly, smiling to myself when I heard her impatient sigh, "I just received two acceptance letters to universities, both a full scholarship."

"You got in?" She whispered, looking at me in shock. A smile broke out over her face and she pulled me into a hug, "I'm so proud of you Paul."

"What's everyone so cheerful about?" A gruff voice interrupted.

Mom pulled back, smiling at her husband, "John, Paul's got some good news." She gushed, ushering him into the kitchen.

Dad looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "What's going on?"

"I've got two scholarships." I said quietly.

Just as mom had Dad's face broke out into a giant smile and he pulled me into a hug, "Good on you boy." He pulled back, his hand gripping my shoulder, "You can't let them know; you can't phase and let them know about it."

"I know Dad." I said firmly, "I haven't phased at the same time as others for a few weeks and if I have to I'm pretty good at hiding my thoughts now."

"I just want you to be extra careful. Don't phase unless you absolutely have to. Which university have you accepted?" Dad asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"I chose New York. The only thing I need to worry about paying for is food, books and extra things like clothes." I told him.

He nodded, "How long is it?"

"It's a five year course but I'm hoping to try and get it done in four." I said thoughtfully.

That night we celebrated; Mom was still gushing over the chance I may have a better future. I'd told them my plans on taking an anger management courses and both supported my decision and for the first time things were looking good in my life. But both of my parents were uneasy about me staying in La Push for any longer than a couple of week and soon it came for my last night with my family.

"You don't call us for anything. Do you understand?" Dad said firmly, looking me dead in the eye.

I hesitated and finally nodded with a sigh, "Yes Dad. You two have to promise me that you'll call if anything happens." I countered back.

Dad smiled, "Nothing will happen but okay."

"Mom, please don't cry." I said desperately after turning to her. Tears were leaking down her face and she burst into tears and threw her arms around me, "I'm going to miss you too Mom."

"You had better take care of yourself, young man." She said firmly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

I nodded and we headed out to the car. I looked up surprised to see Jared standing in front of me looking confused, "What's going on man?"

Out of everyone in the pack I had been closest to Paul. We'd been friends before either of us had become werewolves and our friendship had increased when we both realised what had happened to us. He was truly my pack brother, and the only one I would miss once I left. But I couldn't risk Sam finding out if I told him. I just hoped one day I would have the chance to explain to him why I did what I did.

"I've got to drive the old man out to the airport." I said, after taking a deep breath, "He's going away to visit some family."

Jared shrugged, believing my story, "Sam wants you at his place by seven tonight. You'll be there right?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Where else would I be? Shopping for dresses?" I asked sarcastically.

Jared rolled his eyes, "Whatever man, I'll see ya later."

"Yeah, see you man."

I took one last look at my closest friend and got in the car ready to escape my prison.

A/N so this is the new Paul story. Please try to remember it's an author's universe fic, and I still love the pack as much as any. So read and review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Two

_Paul P.O.V_

It had been three years since I had left La Push. I hadn't been back there, nor had I heard from anyone who still lived there. I'd had no contact with my parents since the day I had left and I had no idea how the Elders of La Push were treating them; all I knew was they had my number and would only use it if there was an emergency. Every month I would, however, send them money not knowing if either of them is still employed.

But life in New York was too freeing for me to even consider returning to my previous life. I had only one year left in my course, having shortened my time studying by advancing in all my classes. I was already an intern at a hospital that had offered me a full time job when I had graduated. In these three years I hadn't phased once, though I still wasn't aging. I had taken anger management classes four times before I felt confident in my ability to stay calm. I'd actually made some friends, friends that I could rely on and joke around with.

"Oy Paul!"

I turned, grinning at Lee running up to me. The guy had been the first friend I'd made here and he even knew my secret, kindly referring to it as my 'furry condition'. He was shorter than me but he didn't have the werewolf gene in him, making him less than a foot shorter than me. By human standards however, he was tall.

"What's up?" I asked as we walked through the university, passing others from our class.

Lee shook his head, mock disappointedly, "I still can't figure out how you can turn down somebody hot!"

I rolled my eyes; Lee had developed an annoying habit of trying to get me to date, setting me up with numerous girls that I always rejected as nicely as possible, "You remember that part of my 'furry condition'?"

"That doesn't mean you can't have some fun until it happens." Lee said exasperatedly, rolling his brown eyes at me.

I snorted, "And what if the 'fun' gets too attached and it happens?"

Lee grumbled something under his breath about annoying furry logic but thankfully didn't comment on it again, "You working tonight?"

"Nope I'm free." I grinned, "What are you planning?"

He shrugged, "I was thinking bout getting some guys together and playing some ball."

"Sounds good..."

And that's when my life turned upside down for the first time in three years.

I saw _her_.

She was standing in the middle of the court yard looking adorably confused, a small frown on her face as she stared down at a map in front of her. Her long blond hair was tied up in a loose bun, long strands spilling over her face. Her green eyes were staring intently at the map in front of her before lifting her head to scan around her in complete bafflement.

"Paul? You okay man?" Lee asked worriedly, waving a hand in front of my eyes.

I was too busy gaping at the girl to form a coherent sentence, "Girl…imprint…so…beautiful…" I muttered still watching her afraid that if I moved my eyes away from her she would disappear.

Lee's jaw dropped open and he followed my gaze to her and let out a low whistle, "Damn she's hot Paul." He slapped me over the head, "What are you still doing here?" I looked at him puzzled, "Go and help her; she's clearly lost." He hissed, shoving me unceremoniously towards her.

I looked at him frantically but he nudged me forward. Turning back to her I took a deep breath and walked up. She didn't notice me at first still trying to figure out where she was on the map. When she finally looked up she noticed me and tilted her head back up to look at me; she was so tiny, barely coming up to my chest.

"Hi, I'm Paul…" I began nervously, "I kind of saw you…and you looked confused…do you need any help?" I asked, stumbling over my words pathetically. My coherency was completely destroyed in her presence.

She blushed, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear, "That would be great; I just transferred here from Australia and this campus is so confusing." She smiled shyly, "I'm Lorelai, Lorry for short."

"Are you an exchange student?" I asked dread creeping up inside my chest at the thought of her leaving after a year.

She shook her head, "I got a citizenship."

"If you aren't busy I could show you around campus?" I offered, trying not to sound creepy. Inside my chest, my heart was pounding furiously.

She blinked, clearly not expecting such a bold invitation so soon, "Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you…"

I smiled reassuringly, and hopefully charmingly, "It would be my pleasure, really."

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the campus, me pointing out different places and showing her the best coffee places around. I found out more about her; she had one small dog at home and she had brought a kitten here. She liked playing basketball and spent a lot of time listening to music and was a movie fan.

It wasn't until that annoying thing called time caught up with us. She looked down at her watch and cursed under her breath, "I'm sorry, I've really got to get going. I don't want to leave my kitten alone for too much longer."

My heart began pounding furiously at the thought of never seeing her again so I pointed to a bench, "If you ever need help or people to hang around with I'm usually always there or someone there will be able to tell you where I am." I said, smiling friendly, hoping that she won't forget me.

She blushed lightly, "I'll remember that. Thanks for this afternoon Paul; I really had a great time." She gave me a final smile and walked away, glancing back at me now and then.

I waited until she was out of sight before I walked down to the basketball courts in a complete daze. I didn't even realise I had gotten there until Lee was in front of me, looking at me expectantly. I continued to stare at him blankly and I noticed briefly that the other guys were looking at me as though I was on drugs.

"It's good when they say they had 'a great time'? That's a good thing right?" I asked Lee dazed.

He grinned at me, "Hell yeah it's a good thing. Are you seeing her again? Did you get her number?" He asked the expectant look still on his face.

I slapped my forehead, "I'm such an idiot!" I cursed, "I didn't ask her for her number." I moaned.

"Don't worry; we'll see her around campus." Lee said reassuringly. "Now let's go play some ball."

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I couldn't keep my eyes away from the benches. On them sat the guy that had been plaguing my thoughts since my first moments here at the university. Paul. I hadn't asked any of the girls in my classes about him, worried that I might hear about his popular and sporty girlfriend that he must have. Unfortunately for me, someone noticed my blatant staring.

Sarah, at least I think that was her name, followed my gaze over to Paul and she snorted, giving me an incredulous look, "Don't even think about it."

I turned my gaze to her, confused, "Don't think about what?"

"Paul. That's who you're looking at, right?" She said knowingly, though I could see the dislike in her features.

I was suddenly trying to think of a reason why I had agreed to sit with these girls in the first place, "I was looking around the court yard." I lied convincingly. I was always good at lying.

"Sure you were. Just so you know" She said snottily, "Paul doesn't date. And if he does, it'll be with me. Sorry but you're clearly not his type." Sarah said, effectively producing high pitched giggles from her clones.

Suddenly I was more than ready to get away from the plastic bimbos. I stood, giving them fake preppy smiles, "Well thanks girls, it's been super fun." I said, mocking their high pitched voices perfectly.

I smirked at them before dumping my tray and walking off, not realising that I was walking straight past Paul's table. As I looked over at him one last time he looked up and our eyes met. He grinned at me, a dazed look entering his eyes the same look that I had seen the first time I had met him. He stood up, surprising me by coming over to me.

"Hi Lorelai." He greeted me, his deep voice sending chills down my spine.

I smiled at him my shyness creeping back, "Hello Paul. How are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from stuttering.

"I'm good." He said, smiling widely as though he had won the lottery, "What about you?"

I looked down at my feet and then peeked back up at him, "I'm pretty good, thanks."

He looked as if he were about to ask me a question until an all too familiar voice squealed, "Paul, oh my god it's so good to see you."

I nearly gagged as Sarah pranced over to us, pushing me out of the way so she could stand in front of Paul, twirling a piece of her thin, ratty hair around her finger. Paul tried to disguise the grimace that went across his face, "Hi Sarah." With that he turned his attention back to me without giving her another glance.

I tried to stifle a giggle at the horrified look that went across Sarah's face, making her look constipated, and "What are you doing tonight?" Paul asked me, sounding nervous.

I looked at him shocked and surprisingly I answered, "Nothing…" I tried to get out but guess who cut over me?

And the point goes to Sarah.

"Paul, you don't need to put yourself through showing _her_ around." She said, casting me a filthy look, "We could go out and do something." She said her voice light and flirty.

Paul all but glared at her in annoyance, "I'm asking Lorelai out, not you. Stop bugging me and find someone who's actually interested." He growled.

Some guy, I don't know who, quickly intercepted Paul and Sarah. "Sarah, I believe there's someone over there with the right amount of money you usually demand." He said rudely.

Sarah's face became bright red and went off with a huff. The guy looked guiltily over at Paul who was breathing heavily as though trying to stop himself from running out of breath. Worried I put my hand on his arm and immediately he calmed down.

"Are you okay?"

He smiled tightly, "I'm fine. Sarah just really shits me." He looked over at the guy pointedly.

He threw his hands in the air, "Alright, I said I was sorry. I didn't think she'd go all stalker on you." He turned to me and grinned, "So you're Lorelai. Paul hasn't shut up about you since he met you. I'm Lee."

I smiled, noticing the blush that rose on Paul's cheeks, "Nice to meet you."

Lee not so subtly slipped back to the rest of the guys who were staring at us eagerly, "Why are they looking at us like that?" I whispered to Paul.

He squirmed uncomfortably, "I don't ask girls out…ever. This is pretty much the first time they've seen me willingly interact with a girl." He admitted. "So before they start shouting out things, would you like to go on a date with me tonight?"

Did he just ask me out on a date?

Oh my god he did.

I smiled, feeling extremely shy. I wasn't one to date and neither was he, I could tell that. "I'd love to."

His face broke out into a relieved smile and we exchanged numbers. He told me he would pick me up from my room at seven for a casual dinner. As I said goodbye I could hear the cheers from his friends and I couldn't believe that he's never been on a date with anyone.

I couldn't help but wonder what was so special about me.

A/N thanks for all the reviews. Let me know what you think of this chapter. I probably won't be able to update for a while and if I do, it'll be for Gifts in Life. Read and Review.


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Three

_Paul P.O.V_

I continued to watch Lorelai as she walked away, my chest filling with relief that she hadn't rejected me. I could hear the guys whistling and cheering behind me but it took me a moment to get my legs to work and get me back over to the seats. When I was seated some of the guys slapped me on the back, others throwing me comments.

It wasn't a common thing for me to ask someone out. Actually it hadn't happened in the three years that I had been at university. I was too worried about getting involved with someone and then imprinting after getting too attached to someone else. In the end staying clear of the dating scene had paid off.

"Congrats man."

I looked up at Lee and I was sure I looked like an idiot, "She said yes."

Lee shock his head incredulously, "I don't understand how you can be this hopeless around girls. Did you avoid them or something?" He leaned and whispered, "In case no one's told you, girls don't have cooties."

I glared at him, "You're an ass."

"Yeah, but I rock." He said with a sharp grin. "Now what are you doing tonight?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Isn't this a little…girly to be discussing what I'm going to do with Lorelai on the date?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored my comment, "Well I know you're not going to be having sex." He ducked when he saw my hand flying at him, "Hey, watch it. I'm just trying to give you some advice; it's not like you're experienced in the dating department."

"Gee thanks for the confidence." I muttered, standing up.

Lee walked beside me, sighing dramatically, "I just want to make sure you don't scare off the first girl you've shown interest in because you lack the ability to take her out on a decent date."

"For your information I already know what I'm doing for our date." I shot back irritated.

He raised an eyebrow, "Alright then, what are you planning?"

"I'm going to take her to the small café outside of the uni," I began, mentally ticking off the places in my list, "and then I'll take her for a walk to the ice cream place for desert and then back here."

Lee was nodding, considering what I had said, "Why don't you take her to the park while you have the ice cream and then come back here?" He suggested.

I thought it over and nodded in agreement, "Sounds good. See I can come up with a good date." I said smugly.

He rolled his eyes and slapped my shoulder, "Alright I'll catch ya later Wolf."

I watched as he separated down another path that led to one of the classrooms and I continued on to my room. Lee had been the one who began calling me Wolf after I told him about what I was. After a while Wolf was the only name people knew me by and even today some people didn't know my real name so they stuck with calling me what they knew.

When I got back to my room I had to kick through the piles of dirty cloths. I stared at them disgusted and bundled them up, dumping them into the laundry basket that I continually forgot I had in the corner of my room. I would need to do a trip to the laundry and soon otherwise I was worried I might receive complaints about the smell of the room from others.

I shook those worries away and began shuffling through the clothes that were clean and folded away in my cupboard. I threw out a pair of decent jeans and finally settled on a black shirt. I had a quick shower, using that time to calm down and think about the upcoming date with my soul mate. I could see her shock when I turned down Sarah and I hoped that by doing so, she believed me to be a decent guy instead on of the typical guys that chased after every girl they see.

I will show her the type of guy I am.

_Lorelai P.O.V_

When I got back to my room I practically squealed when reality sunk in. I was going on a date with Paul, the sweet and funny guy that helped me when I was lost. I was never one to date, knowing rationally that relationships in high school never lasted properly and after seeing firsthand the result of relationships gone bad I decided to wait until university.

I pushed away from the door, going to my cupboard and flicking through my clothes. I pulled out a knee length red dress that was casual but the black embroidery across the chest made it dressier if the situation required it to be so. I pulled out a pair of leggings to wear underneath and a black cardigan to keep me warm if required.

I took a shower, scrubbing my hair until I was sure it would look clean. I dressed quickly, seeing that I had just an hour to get ready. I pulled on my clothes while my hair straightener heated, slipping on a pair of black flats and dried my hair. I pulled the straightener through my hair, taking care to make sure I was getting it evenly straight.

As I got closer to the top I curled large strands and by the time I was done I was pleased with the result. I added a small touch of gold eye shadow and black mascara, adding some pink lip gloss and just as I grabbed my purse to check the amount of money there was a knock on the door.

I took a deep breath and opened the door, startled to see Paul dressed in casual jeans and a black shirt. He looked so hot I couldn't form words. Once again I was reminded that I was going out with an incredibly gorgeous guy.

I blushed as I finally registered the dazed look on his face, "You look more beautiful than normal." He finally got out, his eyes trailing over my face, never once straying down to any inappropriate places.

I swear I just went five shades of red after he said that. "Thanks. You look pretty good yourself." I said shyly, biting my lip softly.

"Are you ready?" He asked, offering me his arm courteously.

I wrapped my arm through his giggling slightly, "So do I get to know where we're going?"

"It's a secret." He said lightly, "I would have blindfolded you but I don't think people would realise that I'm not kidnapping you." Paul joked.

I nodded in agreement. "Somehow I don't think they would." We continued walking but I couldn't help but ask again, "So you can't even give me a tiny clue?"

He laughed, "You don't like secrets do you?"

"Nope, so you'll just have to tell me." I said with a note of finality.

He stopped just outside of a small, and cosy, café, "Well since we're already here I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you."

I slapped his arm playfully, unable to miss just how muscular he was, "That was mean, keeping me in suspense for all that time."

He looked at me incredulously, "It wasn't even a five minute walk from campus."

I pouted playfully, realising for the first time that we were both flirting with each other. "Yes but it was five minutes that I didn't know what we were doing."

Paul shook his head in amazement and led me to the door, holding it open for me. The waitress was obviously from school, having stopped and looked in horror at Paul standing here with me. Her mouth hung open, still shocked as she led us to a table in the middle, the crowd around us making it hard to hear each other.

"Can we have something more private, please?" Paul asked politely, though I could sense his irritation at the waitress.

She threw me a filthy glare but did as he asked obviously hoping that she would get some attention from him, "If there's anything else you need, just call out." She said, winking at Paul and handing him the menus.

Paul didn't give her another glance, instead handed me the other menu with a small apologetic smile. With a huff the waitress finally disappeared and Paul let out a small groan.

"I'm so sorry about that. You'd think with the way she acted she was my ex or something." He muttered and then his eyes open, "But she's not. She's not my ex." He added hastily looking nervous.

I smiled reassuringly, "I know; you've already told me that you haven't dated. Even if she was your ex it wouldn't bother me." I lied, trying to hide the jealousy that rose up inside of me at the thought of him dating other people.

We looked through the menu, each of us arguing over what we wanted and finally Paul ordered a large plate of meat with roast vegetables while I got fish and chips.

"So what are you studying?" I asked him, thinking it would be something like mechanics.

He shrugged, "I'm studying medicine. I'm in my final year."

My mouth dropped open, "You're kidding! Wow, you're a smart person then." I said with nod.

He blushed, yes actually blushed (it was so cute), "I was surprised to get the scholarship."

My eyes widened, "You got a scholarship as well?"

He shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come."

"Are you interning at the hospital or doing work there?" I asked, moving the conversation away from what he was clearly uncomfortable talking about.

He smiled gratefully at the change of topic, "Yeah I've been working down at the hospital a couple of blocks away since half way through my second year. I've already got a job for when I finish." He took a sip of his water and looked at me curiously, "What are you studying?"

"I'm doing a double degree in teaching and arts. I did my first two years in Australia and I've got my final two here." I told him.

"What type of teaching?" He asked with interest.

"High school teaching; I don't think I could teach primary school." I said, wrinkling my nose slightly at the idea.

"I think you'd be a good teacher." He murmured.

The food came then, the waitress glaring at me but threw Paul a flirty smile. Does she think that because he's on a date that he's going to start dating everyone now? Paul ignored her, keeping his attention on me and we continued our conversation. We began eating, casting small glances up at each other now and then. I could tell immediately that he was trying to refrain from stuffing his face full of the food on his plate. He finished before I did and I could see him throwing looks at my chips. With a small laugh I turned my plate so that he could pick some off my plate. He gave me a small grin and helped himself, the silence between us calm and comfortable.

It wasn't until we were just about to leave that something happened or rather someone happened.

I stood, about to follow Paul to the counter when someone ran straight into me. I stumbled and knocked into Paul who caught me straight away and helped me up. I mumbled thanks, turning around and my eyes narrowed into a glare when I saw Sarah smiling smugly at me.

"Are you alright?" Paul asked me worriedly, not even noticing Sarah.

I saw a look of annoyance flash across Sarah's face before she threw herself into Paul, "Oh Paul thank god you stopped her. I thought she was going to hurt someone." She babbled.

Paul looked at her as though she was insane, "You pushed her." He said in a cold tone, turning away.

She latched on to his arm, "Of course I didn't. She just gave me this awful glare and charged through. I thought she was going to hurt someone!" Sarah said, trying to sound earnest.

Paul swiftly removed her hand off his arm, looping an arm around my waist, "Come on, there's still more."

"But Paul!" Sarah whined, trailing after us. "She's trying to come between us…"

Neither of us paid attention to her as we paid for the bill and walked out of the restaurant. We walked in silence, our hands brushing against one another. I was shivering, my black cardigan barely keeping the cold wind out.

"I'm sorry." Paul said suddenly.

I looked over at him, surprised to find him looking at the ground disheartened, "What for?" I asked in confusion.

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "For Sarah's annoying infatuation with me. I hope she hasn't ruined the night…"

"Paul nothing she could think of doing what ruin tonight. I'm having a great time, really." I said earnestly, gathering my courage and taking his hand, squeezing reassuringly.

He didn't let go of my hand and he noticed how cold I was, "Why didn't you say you were cold?" He muttered, pulling me closer to him so he could wrap an arm around my shoulder, pinning me against him.

I let myself fall into his warmth, surprised by the amount of heat that radiated off him. I let him guide me through the streets of the city. I didn't feel scared or worried about where we were going or whether Paul would lead us astray. I trusted him with no questions asked and I surprised myself at how easily I trusted him.

Trust wasn't something I was used to feeling around others. My previous boyfriends hadn't helped my ability to trust others and neither did my family life. I was used to relying solely on myself but for the first time I saw myself relying on Paul, trusting him to take care of me. The thought terrified me that I trusted him so quickly.

"I hope you're not too cold for ice cream." Paul spoke quietly, stopping us just outside of a small ice cream parlour.

I brightened, "It's never too cold for ice cream." I said firmly, practically dragging him inside.

Neither of us had to look at the displayed ice creams, both saying at the same time, "Cookies and cream with mint choc chip."

We looked at each other and I let out a giggle as we waited for the person to scoop up the two ice creams and hand them to us. Who would've thought that we'd chose the same type of ice cream? I couldn't help but see this as a sign that Paul might be something more than just the guy who showed me around campus.

We didn't stay in the ice cream parlour to eat. He continued leading me through the streets and finally we came across a park that I realised was close to the school. We picked a spot near a tree so we could lean back and stare up at what we could see of the stars.

"I can't believe you can see so few stars out here." I murmured, resting my head unconsciously on Paul's shoulder.

He shifted and then his arm wrapped around my shoulder so I could cuddle in closer, "I guess I've gotten used to it. I haven't been back out in the country for a long time."

"Where did you used to live?" I asked, no longer shivering from the abnormal heat he provided.

He tensed slightly and I couldn't help but wonder whether he had gotten into a fight with his parents before leaving, "I used to live in Washington, a small Indian reservation called La Push. Now there's a place where you can see the stars." He said and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Have you been back there since?" I asked hesitantly, looking up at his face to see whether I had questioned too far.

He looked down and gave me a small smile but I could see his nervousness, "There are things that I can't tell you right now about me. Not because I don't trust you, because I do even though we've only known each other for two days or something like that." He babbled, "I just can't talk about it." He ended quietly, closing his eyes as if waiting for a blow.

I considered what he said, and couldn't help but think how cute he had been babbling like that, "Okay." I said simply, resting my head back down on his firm shoulder.

His eyes shot open and I could feel him studying me in shock, "Okay? I just told you…"

"That you weren't ready to blurt out your whole life story." I ended, smiling up at his baffled face, "Paul it's understandable that you keep things to yourself until you feel that it's right to tell me. I'm sure there will be things that I'll need to wait to tell you as well." I said with a shrug.

Paul's face broke out into a smile, "Thank God I found you." He muttered and I couldn't help but wonder if there was more than one meaning behind that sentence.

We sat in silence, the mood comfortable between us and I began to hear the light snapping of branches around us. I tensed, turning my head to scan the area around us but found nothing. Paul also began to tense and I was thankful that I wasn't becoming paranoid. After all, who would want to pick a fight with a guy as big as Paul?

No one in their right mind, that's for sure.

Except Paul did something I didn't expect, "Lee if you don't get your ass out of those bushes and away from here within the next two minutes, you are dead." He growled, looking over my head and over at a particularly shifty set of bushes.

Sure enough Lee emerged looking guilty, "Hey man, it's funny to see you here." He faked a look of surprise when he saw me, "Oh, hey Lorelai; didn't see you there."

"There wouldn't be anyone else with you now, would there?" I asked, trying to stop my lips from curving into a smile and trying to be scary.

Okay I failed, I'll admit it.

He shifted, a panicky look crossing his features, "No, just out for a little stroll…"

I blinked as he suddenly disappeared from my sight. I looked down and my eyes widened when I saw Lee standing up and rubbing the back of his head while another guy was apologising hastily to him, standing up quickly. The other guy was a bit shorter than Lee, his dirty blond hair covered in leaves, and his brown eyes looked nervously at Paul.

"Oh, hey man. Whatcha doing?" He asked lightly, lifting his hand to get the leaves out of his hair.

I looked over at Paul who looked amused but annoyed at the two guys in front of us, "Well we're kind of in the middle of our date, _as you both know_." He added with a growl.

I put a calming hand on his arm, "Did you want something or were you just here to spy on us?" I asked lightly, already knowing the answer.

"Just here to spy on you." The guy said without thinking and Lee whacked him over the head and hissed something unintelligible at him.

Paul sighed, "We'd better get back to school anyway." He said glumly, standing and holding out a hand for me.

He lifted me to my feet as if I weighed nothing, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to keep me warm, "You guys can walk ahead; at least ten feet." He added when they swapped an excited look between them.

Their excitement dimmed and they grumpily walked in front of us, staying at the distance that Paul told them too. He shook his head, exasperated at his friends but he kept me close to his side, shielding me from the cold air. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so warm and I voiced my question.

Paul shrugged as though it was nothing, "It's a genetic thing I got from my dad's side."

I knew there was more to it then that but I figured it was one of those things that he wanted to tell me after a while. We walked back into campus, a few people still lingering around the courtyard and watched us with wide eyes. I couldn't stop the blush that rose onto my cheeks, shrinking in t Paul to hide from the eyes that were watching me unabashedly.

"Why are they staring at us?" I whispered.

He chuckled, "I told you; no one's used to me dating a girl."

"It's that weird?"

"It's extremely weird." He said, leading me back to my room.

I hadn't even noticed that Lee and the other guy had disappeared. It wasn't until we were at my door that I realised we were finally alone. I looked up at him nervously; did we kiss now? Or was it too soon to kiss? Did we hug or would that seem like I'm not interested?

Oh God what do I do?

A/N so that's nine pages for you. I'm not sorry for leaving it there; I've got to keep you interested somehow. Thanks for all the reviews, keep them up! For anyone who's read Gifts in Life I need help! I'm stuck and I don't know what to write next, hence the delay in updating. Read and review!


	4. Chapter 4

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Four

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I turned around so I was facing him, my back pressed up against my door as my eyes locked on to his. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest as I looked up at him, waiting for him to make the move.

Paul smiled softly at me, moving closer so I could feel his chest rubbing lightly against me. He rested one of his hands above my head on the door, tilting his head down softly. His eyes never left my as he hesitantly brushed his lips against mine, softly at first and pressed harder when I responded. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his came around my waist, pulling me flush against his body so my feet were resting on top of his feet. I pressed myself closer, his warm lips moving against mine perfectly, his tongue tracing my lower lip.

We broke apart at the same time, both of us breathing heavily as we tried to regain our breath. I had never had such a kiss with any of my previous boyfriends. I looked up at him with wide eyes, my arms still wrapped around his neck and he was still keeping me pressed up against him. I shy smile flittered across my face as I pressed my forehead against his chest, the closest place I could reach since I was still short even with him holding me on his feet.

"Wow." I whispered, biting my lower lip.

Paul grinned dazed at me, "I think 'wow's' an understatement." He breathed, leaning down to give me another kiss.

And another one.

And another one.

He nuzzled my neck, "You have no idea how addictive you are." He murmured.

I giggled, pressing my lips against his again, "You're not too bad yourself." I said lightly.

"_What the hell are you doing?_" A loud, high pitched screech filled the corridor.

We broke apart and turned towards the sound that disturbed our peace. Sarah was standing with her clique behind her glaring at us, well me, furiously. Paul's grip on my waist tightened protectively; we had both had enough of Sarah for one day. Sarah forced out a breath before plastering a condescending smile on her face and marching up to us.

"Paul…darling, I know you feel the need to be, how should I put it, unclaimed but trying to make me jealous isn't the way to go about things." She said condescendingly and turned to me, "You leave." She said, clicking her fingers.

I glared at her, "Excuse me? You're once again disturbing our _date_ and you've done enough stalking of _my_ boyfriend for one day." I clicked my fingers, mocking her, "You, leave."

Sarah gaped at me, her mouth wide open and it wasn't a pretty sight. She looked over at Paul and clearly didn't get the response she'd wanted because she let out a high frustrated squeal and marched away, the girls with her comforting her and hurrying after her. I waited until I had seen that she had left the corridor before turning to Paul, not sure what to expect from him. I'd practically announced how much of a bitch I could be, how much I could be like the girls he clearly despised.

Except he didn't see it that way.

"That was freaking awesome!" He cheered looking down at me with a huge grin. "Damn why couldn't you have come here sooner?"

I smiled weakly and leant into him, relieved that he wasn't revolted by my mere presence, "I have the ability to be a bitch when needed." I mumbled into his shirt, not bothering to lift my head up.

A deep rumble went through his chest as he laughed, "You're far from a bitch Lorry. You've just got backbone; there's a difference." He reassured me, "Trust me, you're nothing like those bimbos."

I tilted my head up to smile at him, "I'm glad."

He leant down and kissed me softly, his hand tracing across my jaw gently. "I should go." He said after a moment.

"I don't want you to." I mumbled, clutching on to him tighter.

I knew he didn't want to either, "I'll see you tomorrow." He muttered in between kissing down my jaw and to my neck.

"Promise?" I breathed, trying to focus on keeping my legs working.

I wasn't having much luck.

He reluctantly pulled away, giving me a final small kiss on the lips, "I promise. I'll meet you at the seats."

I raised an eyebrow sceptically, "Isn't that where all your friends sit?"

"Yep." He said, clearly not worried.

"These are the friends that are constantly whistling at us and shouting things whenever I'm in their eyesight?" I hinted, hoping he'll realise what I'm getting at.

Realisation dawned on him and he shrugged, "I figure the sooner you meet them the sooner they'll stop annoying us."

I considered this and nodded my head in agreement, "I can deal with that."

"I better go." He said, leaning down and giving me a final kiss.

I grinned at him, "You've been saying that for the past five minutes." I pointed out, biting my lip.

He gave me a playful glare, "Stop teasing me. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, backing away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I confirmed, opening my door and slipping inside, knowing that if I stayed in sight of him any longer neither of us would be leaving.

_Paul P.O.V_

I walked away feeling the happiest I ever had. Nothing but Lorelai mattered and I couldn't have been more thankful that I had imprinted on such a down-to-earth girl. I knew Lee was waiting for me in my apartment and I headed there in a daze, a feeling I was quickly becoming used to. It was hard not to feel dazed after being in Lorelai's presence, especially since she was my imprint.

"How'd the date go?" Lee asked.

I looked up in shock when I realised that I was in my apartment. I shook my head breaking out of my trance, "It was perfect. What the hell were you doing following us?" I asked, shaking my head at him in annoyance when I remembered what he did.

"We wanted to know what you were up too." Lee said innocently.

"We?" I prompted, trying to figure out which one of our friends had agreed to spy on me. I never got a look at his face considering he was hiding behind Lee.

"Yeah, me and Jack wanted to know if you actually knew how to talk to a girl so we followed you." Lee said as though he was talking about the weather.

I gave him a fake smile, "I don't know whether to strangle you or embarrass you in front of the next girl you see."

"Down puppy." Lee joked, holding his hands up in surrender, "Next time you go on a date I'll make sure I'm the only person following you. Are you happy?" He said, sighing exaggeratedly.

I whacked him over the head, "I better not find you following us next time."

"So when are you going to tell her?" Lee asked me, following me into the small kitchenette.

I looked at him incredulously, "You can't seriously think that I'm going to tell her I'm a werewolf when we've only had one date?" When he simply shrugged I practically exploded, "Are you insane? Do you want me to scare her away? She'll think I'm insane!"

"She'll think you're insane with the way you act half the time." Lee muttered.

I turned back to him with a glare, "I heard that."

He smiled innocently, "I didn't say a thing."

"She's meeting me at the table tomorrow." I admitted after a few moments.

Lee whistled, "And she agreed to that? Did you tell her about what she was walking in to? The guys are going to go nuts when they realise that she's the girl you're interested in."

"I kind of forgot." I admitted, "She remembered all too clearly and even reminded me about it. I figured the sooner they meet her officially the sooner they'll leave us alone."

"There's not going to be a chance in hell of that happening and you know it." Lee said cheerfully.

"You're such a bastard." I muttered.

He grinned, giving me a mock salute before he disappeared out the door, "But I rock."

A/N sorry that it's been so long since the last update. I've moved houses and school has been a pain. Thanks for all the reviews, keep it up!


	5. Chapter 5

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Five

_Lorelai P.O.V_

The next morning I woke early, giving me a chance to think over last night and everything that had happened. No matter how far or little we had gone from the campus people had still watched us with shock and some even with jealousy, other a tiny bit of hope. The hope, I'm assuming, was seeing Paul out with a girl made others think they had a chance. The attention was definitely not welcome though I know it was unavoidable. Paul was a popular guy here, though not many people knew about his life before coming to New York.

I got up, stretching and walked into the small kitchen, my kitten Merlin walk around my feet and meowing hungrily. I fed him, thinking back to how Paul's friends had reacted the first time they saw me near Paul and I had to wonder how they would react with me sitting with them. I doubted we would be able to have a private conversation or one at all.

And I knew Lee would definitely be there with no doubt that he would have the most participation in eyeing off everything Paul and I did. I could see him telling Paul everything I did and what that meant.

Yeah, Lee seemed like the type of guy to do that.

I got ready to go to class, giving Merlin a cuddle before I left my side bag heavy and full of books. I walked easily around the campus, going through the courtyard and glancing over at the tables. Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I thought about sitting there at lunch. What would his friends think of me?

When I got to class all of Sarah's clique glared at me, turning robotically towards her and whispering comforting things to her as I sat down in the middle of the room, ignoring them and flicking over my notes from the previous lesson. The class focused on teaching within the classroom, setting out a curriculum for high school students which is what I'm interested in.

As I was reading over my notes I didn't notice an approaching figure until they had slumped down in the seat next to me. I looked up, shocked to find Lee sitting next to me and grinning wickedly.

"Fancy seeing you here." He said, putting on a fake British accent.

I raised an eyebrow, leaning back in my seat, "You want to be a teacher? Doing what – the art of really bad spying?"

He gasped with mock horror, "How could you Lorry! I thought we were going to be BFF's." He said, clutching at his heart, "How you wound me." He said exaggeratedly.

I giggled, "Who says 'BFF's' these days?" I said.

He turned his head slightly and nodded to the group of girls behind us. I burst out laughing, having a mental image of all Sarah's friends running around clucking 'you are so my BFF'. I shook my head and glanced to the front of the room, wondering vaguely where the teacher was.

"Teacher's always late for this class." Lee said with a bored tone.

"Why?"

He smirked, "She's too busy rooting the head of the math department."

I choked, "I don't want to know how you know that." I said, looking at him disgustedly.

"I haven't seen 'it'." He said sighing dramatically, stressing 'it', "She comes to this class all the time with sex hair and her top practically undone and her make-up smudged." He looked at me becoming serious, "So, what do you think of Paul?" He asked.

I blushed, feeling awkward discussing my feelings with Paul's closest friend, "He's nice." I said trying to find someway to escape this conversation.

"Just nice?" He pushed, "Look, I don't know you but Paul's my friend and he's had it rough. If you're just like…"

"Those bimbos that sit in the back and chase after every guy they see because they have no life? No I'm not like them." I told him straight out, "Do I look like the type of girl to parade myself around so I can root anyone?" I asked him bluntly.

Lee stared at me open mouth for a moment and then grinned, "Nope, but you're exactly the type of girl that this uni needs more of. You're going to be great for Paul." He said, sighing happily.

I stared at him, shaking my head in complete bafflement, "Is that some guy approval?"

"Yep, I gotta make sure Wolf's not going to have someone screw him around." Lee said, shrugging.

I looked at him curiously, "Wolf?"

"Yeah, that's Paul's nickname. If someone starts talking about Wolf you know they're referring to Paul." Lee informed me.

"Why do they call him that?" I asked him, curious at the knowing look on Lee's face.

He shrugged as the teacher came in, "Maybe you'll find out soon."

The whole class I was thinking about what Lee had said. '_Maybe you'll find out soon_'. What did that mean? How much more could there be to a name? I tried to change my focus from my questions about Paul to the teacher, knowing that if things worked out between me and Paul that he would tell me in his own time. I didn't see the need to force things out of Paul; it was his business and until we knew each other better it was going to stay that way.

When the class ended I packed up my things slowly, my nerves igniting as I remembered that I now had to meet Paul in front of his friends. Lee grinned at me as though he could tell what I was thinking, walking next to me as we made our way over to the tables. I could hear Sarah sniffling and screeching behind us, and I knew she wasn't about to leave Paul and I alone.

When we got to the seats all of Paul's friends stared at me, their eyes assessing me and they finally grinned at me, glancing at each other. I blushed, looking around for Paul and giving Lee a glare as he snickered at my awkwardness. He and the guys started calling out things to me and I became frustrated. Without hesitation I whacked Lee over the head.

"If you ask me one more time about the date Paul took me on the little drawings of fairies and love hearts that you do in class will be become public." I threatened, pointing my finger at you.

The guys looked at Lee and then burst out laughing. Lee blushed, crossing his arms over his chest and pouted. "That's not fair. I get bored in class and I need to express my artistic side."

"I'd say that's more your feminine side." A deep baritone voice interrupted, sounding amused, "Someone has finally revealed your secret; how will you go on?"

I jerked around to find Paul standing behind me, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing off his muscled forearms, his muscled biceps were visible in the black button up shirt. He was smiling at me and then gave Lee a pointed look.

"Your girlfriend's picking on me!" Lee exclaimed, pointing accusingly at me.

Both Paul and I blushed as his friends began whistling at us, "Alright cut it out." Paul shouted, placing a boiling hand on my mid back to lead me to a seat, "Go ahead and start giving Lee shit for drawing fairy pictures."

That brought about a new wave of snickers except this time it was directed at Lee who, instead of being embarrassed, took in the attention, "That's right people; I rock."

Paul shook his head and sat down next to me, "I'm sorry about them." He said, grinning sheepishly and nodding towards his friends. "I just hope they'll get over it soon."

"Well I'm beginning to doubt that now." I said smiling.

"So you've got a class with Lee." Paul said, glancing over at his friend who was now dancing around the other table with some of the other guys.

I stared at them, "Are they always like this?" I wondered out loud.

"They're not used to beautiful girls around them." He said, smiling charmingly at me.

I blushed, "I think they're just not used to girls in general." I thought for a moment and then responded cheekily, "No, wait, they're just not used to seeing _you_ _with_ girls."

Paul gaped at me and then the next thing I knew he was tickling me. I squealed, trying to jerk away from him but I was unsuccessful. Suddenly there were more people tickling me while one set of hands held firmly on to my hips, pinning me against a hard body.

"Alright, that's enough. Go find your own girl to torture." Paul shouted and the guys cleared away, slapping each other's hands.

I found myself sitting in Paul's lap, his face inches from mine and I gulped, my eyes flicking from his eyes and down to his lips. Without thinking of the crowd around us Paul closed the distance between our lips, kissing me heatedly. His hands held me against him but when we finally remembered the guys around us we jerked apart, my cheeks flaming red.

"Don't stop on account of us." Lee shouted, the guys whistling and cheering

"Way to go Paul!"

"It's about time, man!"

"Keep it in your pants, Wolf."

Paul groaned and stood, pulling me up with him, "Come on, lets go for a walk."


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Six

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I picked up my bag, poking my tongue out at Lee who pouted at us when he realised that we were leaving. In response, likely the only response he could think of, he poked his tongue out and then turned back to his friends and began explaining something, waving his hands exaggeratedly. I saw a couple of the guys lean away from his arms that were flying around everywhere, and a couple shifting so they wouldn't be hit in the face.

As we walked away I nodded my head towards Lee who was doing his little dance again, "Is he always like that?"

Paul grimaced, "He's usually worse if he's had coffee or some type of energy drink."

"This is normal for him?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't think Lee and 'normal' can go in the same sentence." Paul joked.

I giggled, "So where are we going?" I asked after a moment of silence, realising that we had just left the campus.

He shrugged, "I dunno; the campus gets boring after a while. There's a different cafe around the corner if you're hungry." He suggested, running a hand through his hair out of habit.

I smiled, knowing what he was getting at, "You're hungry, aren't you?"

He blushed, "Yeah, I eat a lot."

"Lead the way."

He grinned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, keeping me warm and making me blush as we walked. It wasn't uncomfortable being so physically close to him like I would have thought. Instead it was reassuring, I felt safe with him. And warm. I don't think I'll ever need a heater again.

When we got to the cafe there was no one from campus around that we could see of. It was just past twelve and my stomach pronounced its hunger when I smelt the warm food.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's hungry." Paul grinned as my stomach rumbled hungrily.

I blushed, "Guess I'm hungrier than I thought."

We picked a table by the window that allowed us to look out at who was passing. There were a few students passing by that obviously knew Paul and gaped at him as they passed. He didn't say anything about the passing onlookers, but a faint blush appeared on his tanned cheeks and I knew the attention bothered him. I smiled at him as I ordered a bowl of chips to share and a chicken sandwich while he ordered a large bowl of pasta.

"I don't know how you plan on eating all that." I said staring doubtfully at the large serving that they handed him.

He grinned, "I'm a growing boy." He indicated to the sandwich in front of me, "I don't know how you can just eat that."

"I'm a grown girl." I retorted coolly, smiling at him cheekily, "That and there's still the bowl of chips." I reminded him.

After we had finished eating our separate meals we began on the chips, asking each other questions as we ate.

"Brothers or sisters?" He asked me, taking a chip.

I grimaced, "Two sisters; both are annoying." I paused, eating a chip, "Dogs or cats?"

A strange look passed over his face but he answered, "Dogs definitely." He grinned and then asked, "Lee or Sarah?"

"What type of choice is that?" I asked with a laugh but answered, "Lee definitely. Movies or television shows?"

"Movies all the way." He responded with ease, "Sisters names?"

"Kara and Mia." I said, wincing at the thought of my sisters. "Brothers or sisters?" I asked, using his previous questions.

"I'm an only child." He said sounding sad, "Kids?" He asked nonchalantly.

I shrugged, "Three or four but no girls." I said with a frown.

Before I could ask a question he asked, "Why no girls?" He asked curiously.

"You try growing up with two bitch sisters." I said without hesitation. "Girls are too bitchy." I looked at him accusingly, "You cut in."

He held his hands up in surrender, "Okay, you go."

I eyed him before asking, "City or country?"

He stiffened slightly and shrugged, "I like either but preferably city."

"I don't know; I think after a couple of years of living in the city I'd want to go to a smaller town." I mused out loud.

"Have you lived in the country before?" He asked.

"No; but I lived an hour away from the city." I told him.

We began to head back to the campus and I was laughing at some of the things that Lee had made him do over the three years that they had known each other. He was in the middle of telling me about the time Lee had dressed up as a ninja and spent the day doing ninja moves until he had agreed to go out to the pubs when our favourite person spotted us.

Anyone else note the sarcasm?

"Paul, how are you?" Sarah gushed, thrusting her chest out and batting her eyes stupidly at him.

His grimace was not hidden, "My day just got a whole lot worse because of you." He said not bothering with pleasantries.

Sarah let out a shrill, fake laugh, "Oh Paul, you're so funny." She threw me a filthy look, "You wouldn't believe some of the things that she's been saying about me." She whined, "Of course, no one believes anything she says and they're all on my side."

That would explain the glares that I had been on the receiving end of all day. Paul and I had been puzzled as to the numerous university students glaring as we passed students that I had never seen before.

Paul's eyes hardened, "Listen very carefully Sarah because I'm only going to say this once." He said darkly, "If you continue to harass me and Lorelai you're going to regret it. I'm not interested in you; I never think about you unless it's an insult and I will never have anything to do with you. Now you're going to stop the pathetic rumours about Lorelai and leave us alone."

Sarah shrank away from Paul's gaze and nodded, letting out a tiny squeak. Before she could say anything else Paul's arm returned to my shoulder and gently led me away, his body shaking slightly. I frowned, noticing that whenever he was angry he would start to shake.

"You okay?" I asked hesitantly as we walked back to the seats, the guys still sitting there.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I don't want people saying bad things about you because Sarah likes me."

I was touched that he cared so much and I entwined my fingers through his, "I can handle a few glares." I said lightly, squeezing his hand.

"I don't want you to feel that you need to." He said softly, looking down at me.

We had stopped walking and I was looking up at him. I still couldn't get over how tall he was, towering over me easily. I could feel the warmth from his body and I blushed at his heated gaze. His free hand came up to cup my cheek, the touch sending shivers down my spine and he bent down, brushing his lips against mine gently. After a moment of light kisses I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss and all but falling against him.

"I don't think you'll ever stop being so addictive." Paul murmured against my lips.

I barely noticed the rest of the world moving around us, "Same goes for you." I whispered, smiling shyly at him, "You don't think we're going too fast?" I asked sounding unsure.

"No." He answered immediately and I could hear the honesty in his voice, "I'm not worried or ashamed about my feelings for you, however corny that sounds."

"I'm not either it's just...we've known each other for less than a week." I said, trying to make him understand where I was coming from.

"You want to take this slower?" He guessed and shrugged when I nodded sheepishly, "Don't ever feel like you have to worry about my reaction. If it makes you happy I'll do it. If you want to take things slower, then we'll take things slower so long as I can still be with you."

If I was one of those highly emotional girls that burst into tears at every little thing I would be sobbing by now. I don't know what I had done to deserve such a decent and honest guy who was caring, sweet, funny, and smart and not to mention attractive.

"You have no idea how amazing you are." I blurted out, staring up at him.

When I realised that I had said that aloud I blushed brightly while he grinned, placing his hands gently on my waist, "How so?" He prodded, still grinning.

"I don't want to boost your already giant ego anymore." I replied smartly, leaning up on my toes to kiss him. "I've got class. I'll see you tomorrow?" I murmured against his lips.

He sighed, "I've got work until five but I'll see you tomorrow night." He told me with a smile.

He gave me a final kiss after we had stopped outside my classroom. I stood at the door, watching as he walked away and sighed to myself.

He really was amazing.

A/N sorry this chapter is so late. I wanted to finish Gifts in Life before I continued on this story. If you haven't read it, check it out (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Thanks for all the reviews! Keep it up : )


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Seven

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I sighed and stared agitatedly at the page in front of me, feeling distracted and frustrated. I slammed the book shut and buried my face in my hands, groaning at the pounding in my head. Paul and I had been dating for almost five months and things had calmed; people had finally gotten over the fact that Paul was dating someone.

Girls were, of course, still throwing themselves at him with the hope that he'll spare some attention but most had given up. Sarah, unfortunately, was not one of those giving up but thankfully wasn't being so full on about it all. I had no friends though, apart from the ones that Paul had, Sarah effectively turning everyone against me with a few rumours that I had "stolen Paul from her".

The problem currently was eating at me. I've known since I first met Paul that something was different about him. I still didn't know what his big secret was and sometimes I felt like I barely knew him, the real him. Everything that I have been told about Paul is all about his time at university; I knew nothing about his parents and nothing more on where he was from, where he had grown up. It frustrated me, knowing that he knew everything about me that there was to know, and that included having a very awkward conversation about my ex-boyfriend.

FLASHBACK

We were lying on Paul's bed relaxing after a tiring day of work and study; exams were approaching for both of us and we had been studying like mad. We were watching a random movie on television, both of us practically asleep.

"What were your ex-boyfriends like?" He asked suddenly, shifting slightly so he could look down at me.

I blinked sleepily and it took me a moment to realise what he had just asked me, "Did you just ask me about my ex-boyfriends?" I asked, slightly shocked.

He blushed and shrugged, "I just wanted to know about them." He said defensively, "Well?" He repeated.

"What...I...what do you want to know?" I eventually asked feeling very awkward.

He squirmed slightly, "Was it serious? How many boyfriends have you had?"

"I've only had two boyfriends. The first wasn't serious; I was in grade six and it was pretty silly." I admitted, remembering the small dorky guy that I had told people I was going out with, "I was with my second boyfriend for three months but he wanted to...**do** more than I was ready or willing to do." I paused and continued, "I caught him cheating on me with one of my friends and we broke up then."

"That's it?" Paul asked.

"That's it. It wasn't anything serious; I was fifteen when I was with him. He was sixteen and was at the stage of rooting anything with two legs and boobs." I said, leaning up to kiss him, "You're the only guy that I have ever been serious about and will only be serious about."

END FLASHBACK

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to push and nag at him to tell me everything about him but I couldn't stop thinking that he didn't trust me enough to tell me. Did he trust me? Did he consider our relationship not serious enough to tell me? I didn't know what to think; should I confront him about it? Would I seem demanding and bitchy if I asked him to tell me everything?

I sighed and glanced down at Merlin who was curled up next to the small electric heater purring softly and wished that I could just curl up and ignore everything. I stood and began pacing around the small apartment, thinking of different ways that I could begin any conversation with Paul about his past. I know that he had said to give him time and he would tell me, but would he really?

Could whatever he wants to tell me be bad enough that it would end our relationship?

I jumped and stumbled as someone knocked on the door startling me. I cursed, rubbing my shin as I wobbled to the door. I flung it open, scowling at the pain shooting up my leg. Paul looked down at me worriedly.

"What happened?" He asked, helping me over to a seat as though I was crippled.

I slapped his hands away gently, "I'm fine; I tripped when you knocked on the door." I grumbled, slouching forward on to the table and groaning.

"How late have you been staying up?" Paul said and I could hear the frown in his voice.

"I just haven't been sleeping well; I've been going to bed at nine-ish." I said, my voice grumbled by the barrier of my arms.

Paul's warm hand ran soothingly down my back, "You're going to do fine in your exams." He said reassuringly, bending down so he could kiss the top of my head.

I had taken extra classes so that I could finish my entire course this year and be ready to start teaching by next year. Paul had already finished his final exams and was just waiting on his results. He hadn't been stressing over his exams, confident that he knew everything perfectly especially after having worked in a hospital.

"Yeah, I know." I murmured, leaning back against his embrace and resting my head on his arm.

His presence calmed me and I forgot about all my worries as he gently lifted me up and carried me to my bed. Paul laid me down, sitting down next to me with a worried expression on his face. I knew that he was going doctor on me, analysing everything that could be wrong. He did that to me a lot whenever he was worried about me.

"You've been this tired for a while now." He said, frowning.

I snuggled into his arms feeling nice and warm, "So?"

"So? Lorry, it's not even nine and you're exhausted. Now that I think about it you're always tired." He said still frowning.

I shrugged, not seeing what he was getting at, "That's because I've been studying." I said not bothered, closing my eyes.

"I think you should go get a blood test done." He said seriously.

My eyes flew open and up to his face, "Why? I'm just tired." I argued, shuddering at the thought of having blood out.

I hate needles.

"I think you have glandular fever." He said, "You've got a few of the symptoms; tiredness, high temperatures and aches."

"It's just stress." I protested. "I'm not going."

...........................................................................................................................................................................

"You can't make me do this! I don't want a needle!" I protested as Paul carried me down to pathology over his shoulder. I pounded my fists on his back, "Put me down Paul." I demanded.

Lee was walking behind him chuckling, "I didn't strike you as the type of girl who would just be hanging around, Lorry." Lee grinned.

"That was so lame Lee." I snapped, struggling but Paul's arm around my legs kept me pinned in my position easily. "You know, this is kidnapping." I told him.

After Paul had mentioned taking me to the doctors I thought I had convinced him that I was fine and a good night sleep would do me good. He left with the excuse that he needed to see Lee about something and the next morning I was rudely woken by Lee and Paul barging into my room. They told me that they wanted to go to the movies and the next thing I knew Paul was dragging me into the hospital with Lee as a back-up. The doctor was a friend of Paul's and agreed that a blood test would be needed; agreeing that I had symptoms that strongly suggested glandular fever.

Now we were moments away from someone sticking a needle in my arm and taking my blood.

Paul slowly put me back on my feet, pulling me on to his lap before I had a chance to run from him. Lee was leaning against the doorway, smirking at me as I tried to escape.

"Paul, I don't want to have a needle." I said firmly. When he ignored me I glared at him, "If you make me do this..."

"Number 2?" The nurse called, opening the sliding door after the woman before me had left, smiling at Paul. "Hello Paul." She greeted.

Paul stood and dragged me over, "She's a little anxious Deb." He told Deb, leaning against the seat I was on.

Deb smiled at me reassuringly, rummaging around for a needle. I tilted my head up, anxiously tapping my feet and squeezing my arms by my side. I hated needles like any other normal person and I did everything possible to make sure I never had to have any. Paul took my left hand, rubbing soothing circles but not even he could distract me effectively. I was too nervous to be calmed by his presence. I didn't faint when I saw needles but I start to hyperventilate or laugh. It's weird, I know, but that's how I handle the sight of needles and blood.

"Alright, I want you to take a deep breath." Deb instructed after she wiped my arm, right above my veins.

Paul began to panic as my breathing increased, realising I was hyperventilating. "Lorry, you need to breathe." He instructed, rubbing calming circles on my back and turning my head so I was looking at him, "Lorry, calm down." He instructed.

It didn't work; I couldn't be consoled when I was having a needle. Deb quickly finished and my breathing returned to normal after a moment but I felt terrible, shaking and feeling light headed.

"I want to leave." I said quietly, shaking.

I didn't speak to Paul as we walked out of the hospital and I knew he was feeling guilty but I hated needles and he would have some major sucking up to do before I forgave him. Lee was unusually quiet, sensing the tension between us and wisely not saying anything. When we got back to the campus Lee made some excuse to leave us alone but I walked straight to my room, aware that he was following me.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked once we were in the privacy of my room.

I glared at him, "Oh yes I feel fantastic after having a needle shoved up my arm and taking my blood. It's great hyperventilating."

"You needed it done." He said unapologetically, crossing his arms. "If the test comes back negative you can get whatever revenge you want on me but I feel better knowing whether something is wrong or not."

I sighed, flopping down on my bed and running a shaking hand through my hair, "I know I just really hate needles." I said pathetically, looking glumly down at the ground between my feet.

Paul kneeled down in front of my, taking my hands, "I'm sorry that I forced you to. I just don't like the thought of you hurt and I figured that if I knew I could fight it. That and I'm worried about how stressed you are lately."

I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, "I'm sorry for being a bitch." I murmured into his neck.

He chuckled, "I'm sorry for being inconsiderate." He kissed the top of my head and pulled me back on to the bed so that I was curved against his chest.

"I'm tired." I murmured, closing my eyes sleepily.

"You're always tired." Paul said, rubbing gentle circles on my arm.

My next words destroyed the peaceful moment, my brain not functioning as I asked, "When are you going to tell me everything?"

I felt Paul stiffen, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Now that I had started the conversation I couldn't back down, wouldn't back down, "You're hiding something from me." I said softly, not wanting to have this argument now that we had just stopped arguing.

"No I'm not." He said too quickly, his voice harsh.

"Yes you are Paul." I countered.

He slid off the bed, turning back looking dangerously calm, "There's nothing to tell."

I copied him, standing at the foot of my bed looking up at him unwavering, "I know barely anything about you Paul. You won't tell me about where you grew up, the friends that you had; nothing. Why won't you tell me what your big secret is?" I shouted at him, "Do you think that little of me that you don't think I would understand?"

Paul's hands clenched at his side, his body stiffening at my words, "Has it ever occurred to you that it might be something I just don't want to tell you?" He shot back, anger evident in his eyes.

As soon as the words left his mouth regret flashed through his eyes. I knew he didn't like fighting and it seemed that all we did lately was fight about something whether it's about my health or studying or even this. I didn't know what to do; I'd never felt this strongly about anyone and I doubted that I would again. I would do anything to keep my relationship with Paul.

"Yu can trust me Paul." I said, lowering my voice.

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair, "It's got nothing to do about trust, Lorry."

With that he turned and walked out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Eight

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I stared at the space Paul had previously filled; I had never felt so confused and scared at any point in my life and the sudden emotions triggered tears. I dropped down on my bed, burying my face in my hands and crying almost hysterically.

I hated fighting with anyone but fighting with Paul felt like I was being squashed with bricks. It was a horrible feeling to say the least.

Exhausted I changed into some pyjamas and fell asleep within moments. When I woke I felt better, although still tired but I was used to feeling permanently tired. I dressed after a long hot shower, thinking of ways to apologise to Paul for being so careless; he had every right to keep things to himself.

I left my room, heading straight for the benches that I was so accustomed to going to. I couldn't see Paul but I didn't dwell on the thought knowing that he usually slept in when he didn't have work. I smiled at Lee, trying to hide my worry and guilt at the fight that I had had with Paul. Lee didn't return the smile, looking down at me seriously with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Where's Paul?" I asked.

His eyes narrowed at me, "What happened last night?" He asked, ignoring my question.

"That's none of your business Lee." I said firmly.

"Yes it is. Paul's my best mate and you did something to piss him off big time Lorry." Lee said angrily, "Paul never gets angry like he did last night. What..."

I sighed in frustration, cutting off what he was saying, "What happens between me and Paul is between us. We're the ones in the relationship; it's not you, me and Paul in one." I snapped.

Lee didn't say anything else and when I realised that he wasn't going to tell me where Paul was I turned and left, running a hand through my hair anxiously. We had never gotten into a serious fight; we'd fought over little things like what show to watch or what we're having for dinner but never anything this big. Usually one of us apologised and at the moment all I wanted to do was apologise and let him know that I hadn't meant to be a complete bitch.

I called his phone continually for the next few hours but he never answered. I soon gave up; focusing my attention on the material I needed to go over for my final exam. I spent the rest of the day studying, ignoring my hunger and tiredness as I took notes and did practice tests for the exam I realised was tomorrow.

I didn't go to sleep until two thirty in the morning when my eyes and brain refused to work. I collapsed on my bed making sure that I had sent my alarm so that it went off loud so I couldn't sleep through it. I tossed and turned through the whole night, dreams haunting me of Paul and failing my exam.

I woke feeling exhausted and continually went over the information that I knew in my head as I made my way to my exam. I didn't see Paul and I felt like collapsing. Everything was so emotionally draining and I couldn't wait for the chance to sleep for the next three days with no worries. I had enough time before my exam to fully wake up with a cup of coffee and a decent breakfast.

But even as I entered the exam I could feel the black rings under my eyes, my exhaustion evident. I had spent what time I could before the exam revising over the things I had difficulty with. I hadn't heard from Paul but I pushed his existence from my mind along with my guilt and worry. I could deal with that after I was finished stressing over my exam.

As it turns out my concentration stayed on the exam for the whole time and I left feeling surprisingly more relaxed then I had thought possible. I could hear some other people practically sobbing to their friends and I wondered how many would need to repeat the course in order to graduate.

Now that I had everything that was stress related over and done with I began thinking of Paul. I tried calling him and when he didn't answer I sighed angrily. How could I make things right if he didn't let me? I love him, more than anything and anyone and fighting with him felt like knives were digging in to my chest. I decided that I had had enough of waiting around for him to come to me.

I was going to him and he will bloody listen to me.

I swerved through the crowd of students, ignoring the worried looks I was receiving from some of the guys and noticed Lee following me. I ignored him too, and his attempts at getting me to stop, letting nothing deter me from my path. When I finally got to Paul's room I knocked normally, taking a deep breath to calm down before I confronted him. I could hear Lee jogging down the hallway to me but Paul opened the door just as he arrived.

He froze, staring down at me blankly, "What are you doing here?" He asked, not rudely.

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm not allowed to come see my boyfriend?"

I saw a faint trace of relief go through him before it disappeared, "I thought you had an exam." He said, ignoring my question.

"Yeah, at nine o'clock this morning I did." I said pointedly.

"I'm sorry; I thought it was this afternoon." Paul said softly, looking concerned, "How did it go? You look tired." He murmured, gently cupping my cheek.

I closed my eyes, leaning in to his touch, "It went fine; I only needed one cup of coffee to keep me awake for the entire time." I said, smiling slightly as I opened my eyes. Lee was no longer present, leaving us to talk alone, "Can we talk?" I asked softly, looking down, "I hate fighting with you."

He ushered me in and before I had the chance to apologise he spoke, "I'm so sorry for what I said..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." I insisted, "_I'm_ the one who should be sorry and I am. I didn't even know what I was saying, it just came out. I don't care about whatever you're keeping to yourself..."

"Yes you do." Paul interrupted quietly, "You do care and you do want to know."

I shrugged helplessly, "Only because I know how much something bothers you." I said earnestly, "I love you so much Paul..."

"You know I love you." He said quietly, and moved so that I was now sitting on his bed and he was kneeling in front of me, my hand in his large boiling one. "And that's why I want to tell you." He said quietly.

"You don't have to Paul. I mean, I'd like to know, yeah but I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me." I said firmly, squeezing his hand.

He rubbed a hand across his jaw, "I was always going to tell you. You need to know everything before you decide whether you want to be with me..."

"I will always want to be with you Paul." I said firmly, interrupting him. "No matter what."

"Don't say that until you know everything." He muttered darkly, standing and began pacing, "There are some things you need to know. By blood I'm Quileute from the Indian Reservation La Push. We have legends that we believe in that tell us of one of our old Chief's."

I listened as he explained the legends of the tribe he's from, fascinated by the detail. I frowned as he discussed 'the cold ones', thinking that it was a little too make-believe to have vampires despite Paul telling me that they basically believed they were werewolves.

"What's this got to do with you?" I asked when he paused with the legends.

"Everything." He said quietly, "That's not all. The gene of the werewolves is passed down through the males, and it would normally skip a generation or two and would kick in when the cold ones had returned."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's so that we can protect the town. The men would get taller, their temperature increasing and they appear to be about twenty five and stop aging." He said quietly, watching me closely.

My eyes widened when I realised what he was hinting at, "You're not serious. Paul, you think you're a werewolf?" I asked incredulously, unable to keep the doubt from my voice. "It's not possible."

"Unfortunately it is." He said darkly, "I know you'll want proof and I'll give it to you. That's the secret; well its part of the secret. It's why I left."

"Paul this is ridiculous." I said, thinking of ways to convince him to go see a therapist or something.

He stood, pulling his shirt over his head as he moved to the doorway. I sat still as he stripped down to his boxers not looking remotely embarrassed by his nakedness. I opened my mouth but no sound could escape, too busy staring at his muscled body to think clearly.

"Paul, what are you doing?" I asked finally, managing to get the words out as I stood and moved towards him, stopping when he backed away.

"Just stay there and watch." Paul said calmly, though I could see the despair in his eyes.

I opened my mouth to say something, to protest, anything as his body began to convulse. Before my mind had registered what was happening before me a horse-sized wolf stood staring at me. I was dimly aware that I was now sitting down, my legs buckling under the shock of what I had seen, of what I was seeing. Paul was a werewolf; my boyfriend was a werewolf. There was only one thing that seemed appropriate to do at this point in time.

I fainted.

A/N I'm sorry that the description of the Quileute legend was so short. Hope you all like the chapter; keep the reviews going please! Send the word around!!!!! Read and Review.


	9. Chapter 9

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Nine

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I felt someone shaking me gently and I began to stir, not wanting to wake up and face reality. I had had the weirdest dream, well that's what I was calling it; Paul had told me he was a werewolf and then he turned into a werewolf. Eventually I opened my eyes, looking up at Paul's worried eyes.

"Why am I at your place?" I muttered sleepily, not willing to admit that everything hadn't been a dream still.

Paul gently brushed back the annoying strands of hair that kept flicking into my eyes, "You fainted."

I looked up at him, understanding now why his eyes were sad, "I don't care."I murmured to him, taking his hand in mine and sitting up.

"What?"

I smiled, finally accepting what had happened and surprised myself with not being bothered by it all, "I don't care that you turn into a giant wolf." I said simply, confused as to why he had jerked away from me.

"You don't know what you're saying." Paul said quietly.

"I know very well what I'm saying." I said calmly, "You're a werewolf and I don't care."

Paul looked at me heatedly, "You should care; you should be running as far away from me as you can."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not going anywhere. I don't care! How many times do you want me to say it? _I don't care_."

He stared at me for a moment, finally listening to the meaning of my words, the sincerity behind them. He stepped closer, hesitantly reaching out to grasp my hand, "Are you sure?" He asked his voice vulnerable.

I tugged him closer, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing myself into his warm, firm body, "I don't care. It's just another part of you." I murmured.

He sighed and I could feel his body sink with relief. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him if that were possible, "There's more." He said at last, the words vibrating through his chest, "You might want to wait before..."

"Paul," I interrupted, "You've already told me you're a werewolf; what could be more confusing or strange than that?" I asked him.

He sighed, "There's a thing called imprinting that happens to us. Basically it's when we see our 'mate' or soul mate. We do everything possible to make them happy and they become our world. They're everything to us; making them happy is our only concern."

I froze; he was right. This was worse than him being some type of mystical being. I swallowed and asked after a moment, my throat feeling dry, and "Have you imprinted?"

He nodded but before I could question him he said quickly, "I imprinted on you." I gaped at him, startled and relieved at the same time, "That day when I first saw you I imprinted."

I sighed with relief, "I need ice cream." I muttered.

Paul grinned at me, "There's some in the freezer."

"Are there really vampires?" I asked as he went into the kitchen.

Werewolves were one thing but I had trouble imagining that vampires were real. I mean, surely someone would notice if people suddenly start dying from extreme loss of blood. I haven't heard of anyone going missing and turning up dead lately. It's just not possible.

Paul chuckled, "Yes they're real but you can stop trying to picture the typical Dracula 'I come to suck your blood' vampire."

"What do you mean?" I asked sceptically.

"They look like normal humans; the majority of vampires travel alone or in a small group but never for long unless they have a mate. They can go out during the day so long as they don't go in sunlight; they sparkle." He told me, handing me a generous bowl of ice cream, sitting down next to me on his bed.

I raised an eyebrow, "They sparkle? Paul, give me some credit."

"I'm being serious. In Forks, near where La Push, we have a treaty with a coven of vampires there. Forks is perfect for them because it's always cloudy and on the rare day that there's sun they say they're going hiking or something."

"If you're mortal enemies with them then why do you have a treaty?" I asked.

Paul chuckled, "They don't feed of humans. They're 'vegetarians'." He said, using quote marks with his fingers.

"Then how do they survive?"

"They drink the blood of animals." Paul said with a casual shrug.

That is gross. Though I suppose it was a step up from eating humans.

We sat in silence; I was too absorbed in my ice cream to think of anything else that was happening; ice cream has all priority, no matter what. We had just finished when Lee came barging in, looking as though he had just spent hours trying and failing to rip out his hair. He froze when he saw us finishing our ice cream and looked at us incredulously, raising his hands to tug at his hair.

"You're eating _fricking ice cream_?" He shouted, looking slightly crazed.

I looked to Paul worriedly, "Dude, what..." Paul began but Lee cut him off.

"Here I was, pacing outside for over two hours thinking that you two were having this huge fight because you never fight but all you're doing is eating ice cream!" He shouted, pacing n front of us like an angry parent. He stopped and then pouted, "You didn't even get me some."

"Dude, I've just been telling her about the whole 'I'm a werewolf' thing and she fainted. She deserved the ice cream more than you." Paul said.

Lee gaped at him for a moment and then grinned, "So you finally grew some balls and told her, eh?"

Paul blushed and it was my turn to gape at them, "You _know_?"

Lee smirked at me smugly, "Of course I know; I know everything. That and I rock."

I turned to Paul incredulously, "How did he manage to keep it to himself?"

"He didn't." Paul said, glaring at Lee, "After I told him he accidentally blurted it out to some random. That's basically how I got the nick name."

"So what exactly have you told her?" Lee inquired, dropping down onto a seat.

"About the legends, imprinting and that I'm a werewolf." Paul responded, taking the dishes over to the sink.

I looked between the two; was there more to the story. I noticed Paul giving Lee a worried look and I wondered what else he had to tell me. "Just spit it out, Paul." I said at last, sick of the glances that were shared between the two.

He sighed, "Technically I ran away from home."

"You ran away from home?" I said, looking at him doubtfully.

"I'd never thought that I would be able to go to uni." Paul began, "I'd already asked Sam whether I would be able to go to university and he'd told me no."

"So?" I asked, not seeing the big deal.

"Sam's the alpha of the pack; if he uses the alpha command then we have to do as he said. I was just lucky that he never used that to forbid me from going to uni. So when I found out that I had gotten a scholarship my parents organised a way for me to get out without them knowing. I didn't phase so they couldn't hear my thoughts."

"Read your thoughts?"

"It's a werewolf thing." He shrugged, "Anyway when I got here I went to...er...anger management." He admitted reluctantly, "Ever since I became a werewolf I've been angry. Well I used to be angry." He said with a shrug. "I can control it now. I only phase every now and then to keep from aging."

"Keep from aging?" I repeated faintly.

He looked at me sheepishly, "Did I leave that detail out?" I gave him a weak nod, "Well, er, phasing keeps us from aging. When we stop phasing, and I mean completely stop, we begin to age again."

"So when will you begin to age again?" I questioned.

"When your about twenty five." He told me reassuringly, "We wait for our imprints so we can age with them."

I sank down with relief, smiling up at him and yawning. I ignored the two while they talked, lying back on Paul's bed and curling up. The day had left me exhausted, my exam and then the news about Paul had left me emotionally and mentally drained. I was dating a werewolf; I was the soul mate of a werewolf. It wasn't something that a girl expected to hear, wasn't something anyone expected to hear about.

But I loved him; and that's all that matters to me.

A/N thanks for all the reviews; keep them coming! Read and review and tell me what you think of the chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Nine

_Lorelai P.O.V_

Something overly hot was surrounding me, a firm arm keeping me pinned up against what felt like a fire. Sleepily I pushed at the heat, burying my head in the crook of something hard but couldn't manage to get back to a deep sleep. Groggily I opened my eyes, blinking to clear my vision. I found myself staring at Paul's sleeping face, my head buried in the crook of his neck.

I found the heater.

Letting out a small whine I tried to push Paul away without success; he was too heavy. So I tried to move away from him but he simply tightened his grip around my waist. I glared at his sleeping form, wishing desperately for an air conditioner or for him to fall of the bed. I began shaking him, hoping to wake him up but I watched as he frowned in his sleep and pulled me closer.

Stupid, annoying, sleeping werewolf boyfriend.

"Paul, wake up." I said loudly, not bothering to be quiet. He had disturbed me from my sleep and I planned to get revenge. "Paul, get up or move your arm. It's too hot." I said, pushing him. After repeating this I realised it wouldn't work and I finally thought of something, "Oh my god, there's a vampire coming to eat us!" I shouted.

Paul flew up and ended up rolling off the bed, grunting as he hit the ground. I giggled as he sat up, his hair messed up in tufts and he looked around the room expectantly. When he realised that there was nothing there he playfully glared at me, jumping back on to the bed and tickling before I could stop him. I squealed trying to swat his hands away as he mercilessly tickled me. When he stopped I was panting, staring up at him.

"You wouldn't get up and I was hot." I grumbled, pouting up at him.

He smiled down at me, pinning his hands on either side of my head, leaning down to kiss me. Soon a small, simple kiss turned into a heated make-out session. He was shirtless, his bare skin burning through my thin singlet top as his hands ran freely down my torso. I gasped as one hand made its way under the thin fabric, gently tracing the smooth skin of my stomach. Paul trailed kisses down my neck and back up to my mouth, kissing me heatedly.

Finally he pulled back, both of us breathing heavily. He rolled to one side, propping his head up on hand so he could look down at me. I took his hand in mine, tracing across the lines of his palm as we laid there in silence. He was looking down at me contemplatively, like he was considering something that would change the world.

"Move in with me." He said suddenly.

My eyes flew to his in surprise, "What?"

"I want you to move in with me." He said, smiling widely at his idea, "We've both finished uni and we can't stay here. I love you and I know I'm spending the rest of my life with you so move in with me."

I smiled, sitting up, "We'd better start looking for a place." I said, leaning forward so I could kiss him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, "I love you." He murmured against my lips, smiling at me.

I kissed him back, "I need to go back to my room; I need some clothes and a shower."

"You could just wear some of mine and we could stay here all day." He smiled suggestively, keeping me pinned up against him.

I caved as he pouted at me, "Fine but we've got to start looking tomorrow." I said firmly heading towards the bathroom.

I sighed as the hot water hit me, relaxing my tense muscles. Having your boyfriend sleep on you was not comfortable or practical for the muscles. Sighing I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around me and after making sure I was dry I peeked my head out to see if Paul had left any clothes.

"Er, Paul?" I called, receiving a grunt in response, "Can I have some clothes?" I asked, waiting for some type of response.

After a moment of hearing nothing but shuffling and a few draws shutting Paul appeared carrying a bundle of clothes in one hand and trying to look anywhere but where I was.

"They might be a bit big." Paul stammered, handing me the clothes and practically bolting from the door.

I stared after him in shock; was he that shocked knowing that I was practically naked? I smiled to myself as I got dressed, blinking as the pants continually fell down my hips. I grabbed the two cords and pulled as far as they would go before securing them in a tight bow. The shirt he had given me to wear fell to my knees and the long sleeves went way past my hands.

Giggling I left the bathroom being carefully not to trip over the long hem of the pants. I found Paul pacing up and down the small length of his room muttering things to himself, occasionally waving his hands exasperatedly in the air.

"Paul, you okay?" I asked amused.

He turned, surprised and stared at me. I shifted, blushing as he continued to blatantly stare at me in shock, blinking occasionally, "Earth to Paul, do you read me?" I joked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"You're in my clothes." He stated stupidly, his eyes still glued to my body.

"Yes Paul," I said, as though I were talking to a child, "I'm dressed in your clothes because you wouldn't let me go back to my apartment to get some of mine."

He continued to stare at me, obviously not embarrassed to stare, "I like you in my clothes." He announced, moving his eyes up to my face with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, "Thank you for the approval." I said sarcastically, going into his kitchen to make a cup of tea.

I felt his arms go around me, his chest pressed up against my back, "I _really_ like you in my clothes." He whispered, placing a soft kiss on my neck.

I shivered, tilting my head back to give him better access. "You're such a tease." I murmured, turning around to kiss him while the kettle heated.

He smiled against my lips, "Am not. You're the tease." He said in between kisses.

"Am not." I countered.

"Are too."

"Meanie." I pouted.

While I made some tea Paul stood against the sink casually, watching as I moved around the kitchen, "So when are we going to look for a place?" He asked casually.

"We could have gone today." I said, throwing him a playful grin, "But someone didn't want to leave the apartment."

"I don't see you complaining." He shot back, poking his tongue out at me.

"We could always go tomorrow after you finish work." I suggested, holding the mug between my hands and taking a sip.

He nodded, "Sounds good to me. You know, we could start looking now." He said, nodding his head over computer.

As I propped some pillows up on his bed so we could lean back Paul brought the laptop over, plugging it into the wall before crawling on to the bed next to me. We browsed through countless websites, arguing about where they were and how far away they were. We needed to find somewhere that would be close by for Paul despite his protests that he can catch a train or buy a car. I still had to wait for my results before I could start applying for teaching positions so there was no point in worrying about me.

"What about there?" I suggested, opening the page for the two bedroom apartment.

Paul eyed it critically; if anything he was fussier than I was, "It's near the hospital." He grudgingly said.

It would be big enough for the two of us and rent would be easy to take care of. It was close to public transport, which I would probably need. I eyed the photos critically; the place needed a clean but other than that it seemed in good condition. The kitchen was a bit bigger than the one in Paul's room and the bathroom was good size for the two of us. The unit was fully furnished and I assumed that was already added on to the cost of things.

"What do you think?" I asked after we had looked through the photos repeatedly.

"Its okay. Do you really want to be living in an apartment?" He asked me skeptically.

"What else are we supposed to live in? We haven't had money saved up for a house." I said with a shrug.

Paul frowned, "I do have money saved up. I didn't have to pay for much while I was here, apart from food. I worked every chance I got and it was good pay. We can always rent out a house instead of an apartment."

"We'll have a look." I said, kissing him.

In the end we had organised to look at three places after Paul had finished work. One of those included the apartment while Paul insisted we look at two houses that weren't too far away from his work and were closer to local schools. I didn't argue with him, knowing that the houses looked a lot nicer than the apartment had and all were fully furnished. We had agreed that we would look at places that were already furnished so we didn't have to worry about spending our money on our own furniture.

Paul continued to look through places on the internet, determined to make sure we hadn't missed anything that would suit us. While he did that I snuggled closer to him, my head resting on his chest so I could listen to the strong beat of his heart and fell asleep within moments.

A/N thanks for the reviews! Keep it up!


	11. Chapter 11

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Eleven

_Paul P.O.V_

I rubbed my head tiredly; it had been a long day. It was hard to keep my mind focused on the work in front of me and not drifting to what Lorry might be doing. I forced myself to pay attention to everything around me and, while doing so, ignoring the new nurses that eyed me off like I was a piece of meat. None of them would ever compare to Lorry and I resisted the urge to snarl at them.

"Paul!" I heard the all too familiar squeal and groaned.

Some of the doctors who I had become friends with glanced at me amused, "I'm going to assume you've met the new nurse, Sarah?" Matt, one of the younger doctors, asked me.

I gave him an annoyed look, "Who in their right mind would hire her?" I shuddered.

"Paul! It's so good to see you!" She squealed, standing right in front of me and batting her eyes.

I winced, taking a step away feeling awkward and annoyed, "Hi Sarah." I said shortly, turning back to the charts in front of me hoping that she would take the hint.

Of course, that was too much to ask. She leaned against the counter, twirling a piece of her hair in what she thought was flirty. I wanted to puke. "It's so funny that we're both working here together." She said, smiling up at me.

"Yeah, hilarious." I said flatly, glaring at Matt who was behind the counter snickering.

"It must be a sign." She breathed, pressing herself up against me, "We're meant to be together Paul." She said, running her hands up and down my arm.

I jerked away from her glaring angrily, "If you do not leave me alone I will report you for harassment. Just because you stalked me and somehow got a job here does not mean that I'm going to date you or even talk to you." I said shortly.

"But Paul!" She whined, stamping her foot, "We're meant to be. You can't honestly still be with Lorna..."

"Her name is Lorelai and yes I am still with her, not that it's any of your business." I snapped.

She moved closer, "She doesn't need to know."

"Oh I already know just how much of a slut you are." Lorry interrupted.

I jerked away from Sarah, hoping desperately that Lorry didn't think I was interested. Sarah, however, moved closer, putting her hands on my chest, "No, how you think you had a chance with Paul." She said smugly.

I pushed Sarah away from me, feeling angrier than I had in years. I would not let my control be ruined by a bratty girl, "Matt can you get the Chief down for me?" I asked, clenching my fists angrily.

Matt nodded, eyeing me carefully before doing as I asked. Sarah gaped up at me, "Paul, what are you doing?"

"Reporting you as I said I would." I said shortly, "I am not with you. I never will be." I turned to Lorry and she obviously realised I was close to breaking. She took my hand and that was all I needed to be calm again.

"What's the problem?" Chief Alf was looking at me calmly, noticing the tension quickly.

"There's nothing wrong, sir." Sarah said quickly, her voice higher than normal and moved closer to me.

I pushed her away, "Actually there is. I'd like to report her," I pointed to Sarah, "for harassment."

Alf turned to Sarah with a disapproving stare, "It's your first day here and already you're being reported for harassment."

"I haven't done anything!" Sarah insisted frantically, "I just know that Paul and I are perfect for each other..."

"She can't handle the fact that I'm dating someone else. She's been trying to date me for years." I interrupted, "I would appreciate it if she could be as far away from me as possible if she's going to work here."

Alf nodded and asked Sarah to go with him to his office. Sarah followed him like a puppy with its tail between its legs. I turned to Lorry, running my hand through my hair irritated and tired. She smiled, wrapping her arms around my waist and I held her close to me. I nuzzled my nose into Lorry's hair before nodding my thanks to Matt. I signed out and together we left the hospital, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. I was excited to look for apartments together, especially knowing that we had only a few weeks left until we had to be out of our apartments at school.

"Okay, this is the one that I picked out." She said as we went into an apartment building.

Already I didn't like, mainly for the fact that it would be so far away for wherever Lorry would be teaching. I didn't like the thought of us living in an apartment building when we could just as easily rent out a nice house for the same price. We weren't impressed by the place; the pictures had shown everything in better condition than what it actually was. There was mould on the tiles in the bathroom and the kitchen smelt like off milk. We left as quickly as we could and Lorry was much happier about looking at houses now.

After looking at both of the small houses we had a difficult decision to make; the first was a bit smaller but was light and had a nice garden already done in the backyard. The other one, however, had a bigger back yard and the furniture was newer than the first house.

"I say we do rock, paper, scissors to decide." Lorry said once we got back to my room.

I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Alright, I'll be the second house."

She grinned and held out her hand, "Rock, paper, scissors." She called, doing the movements.

We both chose rock.

I grinned at her as we repeated the action; she won. She jumped up excitedly and ran to call the owner with no hesitation. It didn't matter to me which house we chose, so long as Lorry was happy. Everything would be fine so long as she was happy with where she was. She came back a moment later, throwing her arms around my neck with some difficulty; she was so short.

"I'm glad you're happy." I murmured, kissing her.

She closed her eyes, smiling happily, "We're getting our own place. Well, it's not _our _own place but it'll be like our own place." She babbled. "I'm tired." She said after a moment.

I laughed quietly, carrying her over to the bed, "What did you do this morning?" I asked her as we curled up on the bed.

"I applied for some teaching positions. One's a couple of blocks from the first house." She murmured her eyes closing as I ran a hand through her hair soothingly.

"Go to sleep babe." I said softly, kissing her head.

She didn't need telling twice.

"I can't believe you guys have your own place already!" Lee whined as he helped carry boxes into the house.

We had ended up getting the first house, and we had recruited Lee to help us. Of course he had been whinging for the past half an hour that we had managed to get a place so easily. Lorry and I had talked about offering Lee a room because he was having so much trouble finding a place and she had no problem with it.

As we were coming back out of the house Lorry looked pointedly at Lee as she slipped past us and into the house. I shook my head at her lack of subtly though Lee didn't notice anything, grabbing another box from the removal van we had rented.

"So how's the house hunting going?" I asked casually as we sorted through what boxes to bring in next.

Lee shrugged, "It's not. I haven't been able to find anywhere half decent."

"Good, we want you to move in with us." I said just as casually.

Lee almost dropped the box he was holding and gaped at me, "So I can listen to you two banging each other?"

I glared at him, "No, because you're our friend you idiot." I said, whacking him over the head.

"Ow." He whined, rubbing the back of his head, "Well what else did you expect me to say? You can't honestly believe that I don't know you two are banging each other." He said rolling his eyes. I couldn't stop the blush rising on my face and his jaw dropped, "No way! You're _not_? Why the hell not? She's your imprint! Bang her already!" Lee said incredulously.

"I am not talking about this with you." I said firmly, taking a box and heading into the house. Lorry looked at us curiously from where she was unpacking some groceries into the cupboard.

"I can't believe you two!" Lee exclaimed, making Lorry even more curious as to what we were talking about.

"Lee." I said warningly, glancing over at Lorry.

He didn't take the message, "Seriously you should just do it!"

"What on earth are you two talking about?" Lorry interrupted, looking between us.

"Nothing!" I said at the same time Lee said, "The fact that you two haven't screwed each other yet."

Lorry blushed, "Lee that is none of your business." She said firmly, glaring at him. "If you want to move in with us get it over with, if not shut up and bring more boxes in."

That officially ended all discussions about our lack of a sex life. In all honestly I had thought about it but it didn't matter how long we waited before we did have sex. And when it did happen Lee would definitely be out of the house and would never hear of it.

By the end of the week we were all in the house and things were going smoothly. Lee and Lorry had both found jobs surprisingly at the same school. Lorry had groaned playfully at the thought of living and working with Lee, laughing at his wounded look. Things were going perfect.

"You can't be serious."

I looked at Lee extremely frustrated. I had explained for the fifth time what I was going to do and he still didn't believe me. I think he was still in shock.

"I'm going to ask Lorry to marry me." I said slowly as though I was talking to a five year old.

Lee blinked stupidly at me, "But why?"

I whacked him over the head, gently of course, "She's my imprint and I love her." I reminded him.

It had been five months since we had moved into our small rented house. Lorry loved going to work, teaching English to high school students and coming home with hilarious stories about the students. I was feeling happier than normal because of her happiness; hey she's my imprint! That's how it's supposed to be. Work for me was great because of how great everything was going; when Lorry was happy, I was happy.

And now I was going to propose to her. I thought my only worries would be getting rejected by Lorry; as it turns out explaining it to Lee was harder already.

"Why do you need to marry her?" Lee asked.

"I don't _need_ to ask her." I said exasperatedly, "I _want _to ask her. One day you're going to experience a similar want." I told him.

He snorted, "No chance in hell of that happening. I'm going to be a free man forever." He grinned at me, "Because I'm awesome like that."

"Whatever, look just go to the movies or something for a while tonight." I told him.

He grumbled but nodded. Now all I had to do was cook before Lorry got home tonight and make things romantic; not my strongest feat. But I knew Lorry would appreciate anything I do, especially since she had a meeting after school and she hates meetings.

I decided to cook a simple spaghetti bolognaise, knowing that she didn't like too much of a fuss. There would be no wine or champagne; she didn't like drinking and I had no problems with having lemonade. I had brought cookies and cream ice cream with some chocolate mint sauce. All in all it didn't take long for me to make dinner and by the time I had set everything up she was walking through the door.

"What's going on?" She asked confused when she came into the dining room. She looked tired, her jacket hung over her arm.

I took her bag and jacket, pushing her gently towards the table, "It's a surprise dinner. Now sit and relax. I'll be back." I said, kissing her quickly.

I grabbed the two bowls of spaghetti that were sitting in the warm oven and brought them into the dining room. Lorry looked at them in surprise and then smiled at me, kissing me when I put the bowl in front of her. I smiled and sat opposite her and she told me about her stressful day; a couple of kids had gotten into a fight and she had sat in the sick bay with them while they waited for their parents to come.

"I'm so tired." She murmured when we had finished eating.

I smiled at her, not nervous at all for what I was about to do. I got up and she looked up at me, confused and startled when I knelt down beside her. It was corny, I know, but she deserved it. I pulled the box from my pocket and took her hand, smiling at her shocked face.

"Will you marry me?" I asked simply, knowing that there weren't any words that I could say that would show my love to her anymore than those words.

She smiled as her eyes filled with tears and nodded, "Yes!" She cried, flinging herself into my arms without hesitation.

I laughed and pulled her back so I could kiss her, "I love you." I murmured.

"I love you too." She beamed as I slipped the ring on to her finger.

Things were perfect.


	12. Chapter 12

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Twelve

_Paul P.O.V_

The wedding was the best day of my life.

We didn't want to have a large bridal party or a big wedding for that matter. I tried to organise for my parents to come down but they didn't answer their phone. Lorry's parents came down for the wedding as well as her two sisters that squealed excitedly when they saw me. Lee had the most fun hitting on the middle sister, Tina. All in all it was a small wedding out in the parks with Tina taking the photos for us.

I will never forget when I saw Lorry walking up the aisle, or at least our version of an aisle, escorted by her father. Her blond hair was loose, falling over her shoulder in neat waves and she wore no make-up; she didn't need it. Her bright eyes were alight with happiness and if I died I would be completely happy. She didn't have an over the top dress, wearing a long white skirt that flared around her and the singlet top had beads sewn across it.

It was perfect. She was perfect.

The moment she became my wife I swept her up in my arms and kissed her thoroughly. She was beaming at me, at everyone, and that day was brilliant with photos to prove it. And I couldn't wait to spend the entire honeymoon showing her just how much I loved her. We had both agreed to wait until our wedding night until we had sex. I don't know when we decided it just happened; we were both content to wait knowing that it wouldn't change anything.

A couple of months after the wedding Lorry came home from school earlier than normal, her face pale but her eyes excited. I looked over her frantically trying to figure out why she was home early and if she was okay.

"What's wrong?" I asked, standing from my seat on the couch.

Lorry bit her lip and beamed at me, "I'm pregnant!"

I stared at her, blinking a couple of times and finally lowered my eyes to her stomach, "How long?" I asked in wonder.

"Thirteen weeks." She said softly.

I beamed back at her, picking her up and twirling her around just like they did in the movies, "We're going to be parents." I said, kissing her excitedly, "We're going to have a baby!"

Lee walked in on that moment, raising an eyebrow as I continued to kiss her, "Have you forgotten where your bedroom is?"

I beamed at him, "We're having a baby!"

"And I hope that baby was consumed in your bedroom." Lee said with a smirk.

"Shut up." I whacked him over the head.

"Have fun having an overly protective werewolf husband, Lorry. Try not to strangle him." Lee called as he walked out of the room.

As it turns out he wasn't far off from the truth. I was the most annoying husband and Lorry told me so every chance she got. I wasn't too stubborn to admit that I controlled everything she ate; made sure she had naps and refused to let her carry more than a spoon. If it wasn't for the fact that it would hurt her if she hit me then I'm sure I would receive a smack five times a day.

The doctor we saw laughed at us every time that we had an appointment. Lorry would try and strangle me when I continually over looked her charts and what she was doing with the ultra sound machine despite only being a GP.

"Paul, I'm sure the doctor knows what she's doing." Lorry would say through clenched teeth as I peered over her shoulder at the charts.

I looked at her innocently, "I'm just having a look."

Currently she was eight months pregnant and I loved it. We both talked to her large belly, and I would spend hours listening to the heartbeats of my wife and unborn baby. We were lying on the couch, my back pressed up against the back of the couch while she was curled against me, her large belly sticking out over the edge. We both groaned as the phone rang and she heaved herself up and I watched as she made her way over to the phone. As she answered the phone her face was a mix of confusion and I knew she was trying to figure out who was on the phone.

I couldn't hide my surprise when she handed me the phone and said, "It's for you."

I frowned trying to think of who would call me, "Hello?"

"Paul?" I froze at the sound of my mother's voice. She began to stumble over her words, and it was obvious that she was crying hysterically.

"Mom, you have to calm down. I can't do anything unless you tell me what's going on." I said as calmly as I could manage hating hearing my mom in obvious distress.

Her sobbing ceased slightly, "It's your father." She managed to choke out before she burst into a new round of tears.

"What's wrong?" asked immediately.

"He's got cancer; the doctor's said its terminal." She sobbed.

Eventually I managed to calm her down again and when we hung up Lorry was beside me, her arms wrapped around me tightly. I held her just as tight, still in shock over the news of my father's sickness.

"What do you want to do?" She asked her voice muffled by my shirt.

I sighed, resting my head on top of hers, "I want to go back; I need to be there to help mom."

She nodded understandingly, "What are you going to do about work?"

"I'll get a transfer to Forks."I said, thinking quickly, "We can stay with Mom until we organise our own place."

Not even a week later we had told the real estate agent that we were leaving after Lee had all but demanded to come with us. It had been a pleasant shock for me but we had been close since I told him about being a werewolf. He would be transferring to the high school in La Push as a sport teacher and would come down a week after we would get there.

"Are you sure you're not too stressed?" I asked Lorry for what must have been the fiftieth time since we had gotten to the airport.

"I'm fine." She reassured me, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. "Come on, our flight's boarding."

I was silent during the flight to Seattle, knowing that when we got there I would be returning to the one place that I had promised never to return. Everything that I had run from was now returning; my anger at everyone, the lack of control over my life and the taunts that I received from my so called 'brothers'.

But I would return for my parents.

A/N sorry this chapter is a bit...everywhere. this story isn't going to be going for much longer. Thanks for the reviews!


	13. Chapter 13

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Thirteen

I clutched Lorry's hand as we sat in the back seat of a cab, on our way to La Push. For Lorry it was a new experience and she stared out the window watching the green forest fly past, rubbing calming circles on my hand. I, however, was tense, looking only at Lorry's pregnant belly and dreading my return to the place I had grown up in.

"It'll be okay Paul." She murmured turning away from the scenery to lean closer and kiss me. "You'll be working for most of the time and I'll be helping your mom out around the house. Everything will be fine." She said soothingly and I relaxed slightly, leaning in to her.

I gave her hand a small squeeze as the cab pulled up at my childhood house. I handed the driver the payment before jumping out of the car to grab the suitcases from the trunk. I moved them out of the way before checking on Lorry, fussing over her as she struggled to get out of the car with her large belly. I couldn't help but laugh and she shot me a dirty look.

"I love you." I smiled, taking the suitcases and leading her up to the house.

I opened the door and sighed, knowing immediately that nothing had changed. The house still smelt of fresh lavender that mom loved to grow out in the backyard, there were still piles of newspapers in the lounge room and the house was, as usually, neat and dust-free. I set the suitcases on the ground in the living room and took Lorry's hand, leading her into the kitchen where I found mom bustling around making a cup of tea.

"Mom." I said quietly.

She shrieked slightly and turned around, her eyes wide, "Paul? What are you doing here?" She gasped.

"I wasn't going to let you deal with this yourself." I told her firmly, wrapping my arms around her. I pulled away and beamed at her, "This is my wife Lorelai." I introduced, pulling Lorry forward.

Mom beamed at her and pulled her into a hug, "It's so good to finally meet my daughter-in-law." She pulled back and patted her large stomach, "And future grandchild I believe."

"It's wonderful to meet you. Paul's told me so much about you; mainly you're cooking." Lorry said, rolling her eyes, "But that's all he thinks about."

Mom laughed, "Some things never change; still obsessed with food." She gave me a disapproving glance, "But you shouldn't have dropped everything to come down and visit; I'm fine."

"We're not visiting Mom." I told her, "We've moved here; I transferred to Forks hospital and we'll look for a place as soon as we can."

Mom gave me a teary smile, "You've always been such a good boy."

Despite her reassurance that she would have been fine without us there she seemed to be moving lighter and I knew she was relieved she wouldn't be alone during dad's sickness. She and Lorry got along amazingly well, joking and telling embarrassing stories about me. I was just thankful Lee wasn't here to hear them.

"I'm going to go check in at the hospital." I told mom the next day, kissing Lorry as she came out of the shower, "I'll see you ladies later." I called.

I drove down to the hospital in mom's car knowing that it wouldn't have been used in a while. I was a little worried about the reaction from the Cullens considering that this was their territory but I refused to be recognized as part of that pack.

As I was given a tour around the place and getting to know the nurses and other doctors I ran in to Carlisle. He couldn't hide his shock when he saw me and I gave him a polite nod ignoring the horrid smell that wafted from him. He smiled back but I knew he would want to talk later.

"Paul?" Carlisle called as I was about to make my way out of the hospital.

I paused, turning back to the elder vampire, "I thought you'd want to talk." I said, running a hand through my hair nervously, "Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was coming to work here; it was short notice." I babbled not wanting to get into a fight with a vampire, especially now that I had stopped phasing.

"You've stopped phasing." He noted somewhat surprised.

I shrugged, "My anger's not a problem now; I did anger management. Imprinting certainly helps matters."

"I don't have a problem with you working here, Paul." Carlisle reassured me, seeing the worried look on my face. "I never took you for..."

"...Someone smart?" I finished when he seemed lost for words. "School was the one thing I was good at. I got a scholarship to a university in New York and just left."

"Yes, Sam wasn't too happy about that." Carlisle said grimacing, "He blamed us, thought we had done something."

I felt guilty that they had been blamed, "I'm sorry; if I had of told him I was leaving he would have forbidden me to go."

"It worked out in the end. You should know that Jacob comes by here sometimes; he imprinted on Bella's daughter." Carlisle told me.

"Bella has a daughter?" I asked puzzled.

Carlisle chuckled at my confusion, "Yes, it seems vampires can get humans pregnant."

I wrinkled my nose at that thought, "And that is where I stop the conversation. Thank you Carlisle." I said smiling and turning to leave.

When I got to the car I glanced down at my phone, grumbling when there was a text from Lorry asking me to get some groceries. I drove down the familiar high way to La Push, turning into the only supermarket that was in the reservation. I was glancing down the aisles trying to figure out what would be the best for Lorry to eat when I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head towards the voice, freezing when I saw Jared walking beside Kim, a little girl in his arms. He noticed me and froze, his face turning from shock to anger in a spilt second. I grabbed the closest bread and darted to the first checkout I could get to and didn't wait around to face Jarred.

"Paul? What's wrong?" Lorry asked when I got home.

I paced up and down the kitchen, running my hands through my hair, "I saw Jared at the store." I admitted flopping into a chair, "He saw me and I'm pretty sure he'll be here any second..."

We both froze as there was a loud thump at the door. I told Lorry to stay inside knowing that Jarred wouldn't be happy and I didn't know how well his control was these days. As I opened the door a fist flew out hitting me square in the face.

Lorry rushed to me in panic, "Paul, are you alright?"

"Yeah Paul, are you alright?" Jared mocked towering over me furiously. "How was your dad's trip?"

"Get out." Lorry demanded glaring at Jared.

I stood putting myself in between Lorry and Jared, "Go into the kitchen." I told her quietly well aware that Jared was beginning to shake slightly.

"Jared, calm down." Kim was next to him and slowly the shaking subsided but both of them continued to glare at me, "Paul." Kim said coldly.

"You both need to leave." Lorry said firmly pushing me behind her and glaring at the two in front of her.

Jared looked as though he was going to ignore Lorry but Kim managed to get him back to the car. I sighed, rubbing my jaw tiredly. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the pack starts showing up ready to attack me. I wrapped my arms around Lorry seeing her distress and murmured soothingly to her, my own worries fading away.

"I'm sorry." I murmured after a few moments.

She kissed my cheek, "It's not your fault." She said with a tired smile and then winced.

"What's wrong?" I asked panicked, thinking that she was having contractions.

"My back is killing me." She said wincing.

I placed my hands at the small of her back and she all sagged against me, "You move your hands and you die." She threatened me, her voice laced with sleep.

I chuckled and moved us to my old room. She lay down, snuggling against my chest and sighed with relief as I massaged her lower back. She was asleep within moments, her arm curled protectively over her belly and the other holding the hand that wasn't rubbing her back.

"I love you." She murmured before she fell into a deep sleep.

I smiled and kissed her temple, "I love you too."

A/N here's the next chapter. There will be more with the pack in the next chapter! Read and Review!!!


	14. Chapter 14

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Fourteen

_Lorelai P.O.V_

I sighed and closed the front door as Paul pulled out of the driveway. H e was going crazy with stress; he didn't want to leave me and his mother alone, worried that someone from the pack will come over. It took a lot to convince him that we'll be fine and he left for work reluctantly. The only reason he did leave was because he knew that Lee would be arriving in a couple of hours.

I had my own worries; I was still nervous at being around Paul's mother despite her warm welcome. What if she didn't like me doing things around the house? What If I said something to upset her? Paul knew I was worried and had chuckled when I voiced my concerns to him.

"Lorelai?" Paul's mother called.

I hesitantly went out to her, "Yes?" I asked, trying to hide my nerves.

She smiled kindly at me, "I'm just going out to the store; did you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine thank you. Did you need some help?" I asked wincing as the baby kicked hitting my ribs.

"I think you should stay here and get some rest." She said, looking at me concerned, "All this stress lately can't be good for you."

I didn't try and argue, giving her a tired smile and wobbling back to Paul's room. The baby had been more than active over the past few days and I was beginning to wonder whether the baby would be premature. Just as I was about to sit down and have a nap a loud knock echoed throughout the house. I grumbled and hurried to the door expecting Lee to be on the other side. I froze in surprise when it wasn't Lee, eyeing the giant men in front f me wearily; I didn't need to ask who these men were here to see.

"Can I help you?" I asked as politely as I could manage.

The man in front all but ignored me, "Where's Paul?" He growled, his dark eyes glaring down at me.

"He's at work." I managed to get out, taking a deep breath as the baby kicked again.

The man narrowed his eyes and pushed past me, "Hey!" I shouted angrily, about to follow him when someone grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me into the kitchen. "Get the hell out." I demanded, wrenching my arm from the guy's grip.

The man glared down at me, "Where is Paul?" He repeated.

"What are you – thick or something? Paul's at work." I snapped, ready to slap him. "Now get the hell out."

"We're not going anywhere until Paul's here." The man snarled. "So either you get him here or you come with us."

I threw my hands up in the air exasperatedly, "I can't ring him; he's at work!" I all but shouted, gasping when the baby kicked again. "Look, can you please just go?"

"Not until we have seen Paul." He repeated his tone less hostile as he looked at me almost concerned.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a shaky breath. I ignored the complaints from the men as I waddled over to a seat and flopped down on it. For the first time in months I felt nauseous; I was beginning to freak out. I began to wonder if there was something was wrong with the baby and I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I needed Paul here with me.

"I need to go." I breathed, feeling dazed as I stood and tried to make my way to the front door.

"You're not going anywhere." The man snapped, grabbing my arm and yanking me back into the kitchen.

Without thinking I struggled against him, banging my hand against him repeatedly until I could feel the pain creeping up my wrist. All I knew was that I needed to get to the hospital. "Let me go." I said weakly, "I need to get to the hospital." I struggled against him.

"Sam, maybe you should let her go." One of the guys suggested looking at me concerned.

The man, Sam, ignored them, "She's not going anywhere."

"Hey, fur ball." All heads turned as Lee's voice floated through the house. I looked at him relieved, "Go chase a cat up a tree." Lee said coolly, taking my hand and guiding me away from the men.

"I need to get to the hospital. Something's wrong Lee." I whimpered.

Lee didn't say anything, eyeing the men around us and led me out of the door. I didn't notice them following us out the door, simply relieved to see the car in front of us. I didn't ask how Lee had gotten a car, all I could think about was getting to the hospital and finding out that everything was okay with my baby.

Lee sped out of the driveway, looking in the review mirror now and then and cursing under his breath, "What's wrong?" I asked feeling more panicked than I should be.

"They're following us." Lee sighed and looked over at me, "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

I shook my head and rubbed a hand over my tummy, "I don't know what's wrong. It feels like what contractions should be."

"We're almost there. Paul gave me directions the other day in case you needed to go to the hospital during the day." He told me.

When he pulled up into the hospital car park two other cars parked next to us. The pack got out and Sam was storming after us as we made our way into the reception area. The reception lady looked up and her smile froze on her face as she stared at the crowd behind me.

"Can I help you?" She asked politely, her eyes flickering over the pack behind us.

"I need to see a doctor. My husband Paul works here." I said immediately.

She didn't hesitate as she called up to the maternity ward, "The maternity ward is on the second floor. When you get out of the elevator turn right and head to the reception area there."

Lee didn't follow me as I began to walk and he nodded to the pack behind him, "They're not with us; is there some way you can ensure that they don't follow us?" He asked politely, smiling charmingly.

Sam glared at him, "We need to see Doctor Paul." He said with a sneer.

The reception lady glared at Sam, "Security will be here if you don't leave."

Sam glared at us before turning and walking out the door. I sighed with relief and thanked the lady; that was one thing I didn't want to deal with. When we got to the maternity ward I looked around anxiously for Paul, sighing with relief when I found him. He rushed up to my looking concerned.

"What happened?" He asked immediately.

"I don't know what's wrong." I whimpered, "I had a lot of back pains and I just figured it was stress but then the baby started kicking hard and..." I rambled, bursting into tears when I couldn't continue.

Paul pulled me into his arms, rubbing a soothingly hand down my back, "Shh, it's going to be fine." He murmured, "They've got your room set up and the doctor's going to be here in a second.

I nodded my head and sniffed. I allowed a nurse to lead me into my room, well aware that Paul wanted to talk to Lee about what happened. All I cared about in this moment was our baby.

_Paul P.O.V_

I watched as one of the nurses helped Lorry into her room and I ran a hand through my hair anxiously; I was trying my hardest to remain calm for Lorry but with the way things were going she may need to have an induced labour. I turned to Lee, smiling thankfully at him.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked, knowing that something must have happened to cause Lorry that much stress that she had to come into the hospital.

"When I got there your old friends were inside. I heard them demanding Lorry to call you despite her continually telling them that you were at work. I got her out of there as soon as I got there." Lee told me, "They followed us here but the receptionist told them to leave or she'll call security. I don't know how long they'll stay away for." He warned me.

I sighed, rubbing a hand across my jaw, "Thanks for the warning. And thanks for getting Lorry out of there."

I gave him a tired smile and went into Lorry's room to find her pacing up and down breathing heavily, "Lorry, you need to calm down." I told her immediately, placing my hands on her shoulders to stop her movements.

She rested her head against my chest, still breathing heavily, "I can't stop worrying about the baby. What if something's wrong? What if I've done something wrong?" She cried.

I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing a soothing hand down her back, "You have done nothing wrong Lorry. We're going to have the ultrasound and talk about what's going on with the Doctor." I said calmly while inside I was reeling; what if something was wrong with the baby?

A/N thanks for all the reviews. This story will come to an end soon but I don't know how long. Read and review!


	15. Chapter 15

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Fifteen

I couldn't look away.

My eyes were all but glued to the small baby girl sleeping in the cot beside Lorry's bed. She was tiny, small tufts of dark hair smoothed on her head which I hoped would later become the light blond that her mother has. She was so tiny that she could fit in one of my hands; that's how tiny she was.

My eyes flicked up to Lorry, expecting to find her asleep especially after the painful day she had had previously yet I found her awake, smiling tiredly at me. Lorry had been smart to go to the hospital when she did as we soon found that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and, had she waited any longer, the baby wouldn't have made it. They had quickly gotten Lorry ready for surgery and done an emergency C-section.

I frowned as Lorry shifted so she was now sitting up, the effort it took her was evident on her face, "Don't look at me like that." She scolded me.

I smiled innocently at her, "Don't look at you like what?"

She eyed me for a moment before she looked to our sleeping girl, "She's so small." Lorry whispered.

"I know." I murmured, taking her hand. I knew she worried about her size, "She's healthy, Lorry." I reminded her gently.

"What are we going to call her?" She mused out loud, and looked at me, "We prepared for everything but her name."

I sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at the baby, "What about Sarah?" I asked, smirking at her teasingly.

"I'm going to forget you said that." She said, glaring at me, "I like Leah."

"No." I said immediately, the name reminded me instantly of the Leah from the pack.

She sighed and continued to look at the baby, "I have no idea; there are so many nice names." She groaned. She thought for another moment before she brightened, "What about Reyna?" She suggested.

"Reyna." I said out loud testing the name and looking down at the baby. "Reyna it is." I said, looking up at Lorry with a smile.

A soft knock on the door caught our attention and Lee came in grinning madly, "Dude, I just met the hottest chick." He announced, "She's coming up here in a sec."

"Honestly Lee can't you go one day without hitting on someone?" Lorry asked rolling her eyes.

Lee smirked at her, "I can't help that I'm awesome." He said innocently. He jerked to the door when there was a confidant rap. He opened the door and grinned at the person on the other side who I assumed was the girl that he'd just met. "This is my mate Paul."

When he revealed the person behind it I froze, my eyes narrowing into a glare at the girl, "What the hell are you doing here Leah?" I all but snarled.

Lee froze and turned back to Leah, "Dear God please tell me she didn't imprint on me." Lee groaned immediately when he realised who Leah must be.

Leah looked at him shocked before turning to glare at me, "You can't keep me from my imprint Paul." She snapped.

Lee groaned again, "Please kill me now."

I ignored Lee despite the hilarity of the situation, "I can keep you away from mine though."

"Paul, we're not here because Sam ordered us." A new voice entered the conversation.

I tensed, looking to the door to find Jacob, Seth and Embry in the doorway. "Get the hell out of here now." I snarled.

Jacob held his hands up as though surrendering and looked behind me at Lorry, "Never would have thought you'd imprint." He said lightly.

"I never thought you'd stop stalking the vampire girl." I threw back, "Funny how things change."

"You're the one who left the pack Paul." Jacob retorted angrily, glaring at me.

I glared back, "You were all the ones that taunted me into a state where I couldn't think past anger."

Jacob fell silent and Leah used that opportunity to speak up, "Get over it, Paul." She snapped, "You stay the hell away from my imprint."

"Whoa there; no one starts telling me who the hell I can hang around with." Lee spoke up angrily, glaring at Leah, "Just because I know of the furry thing doesn't mean I'm going to let some strange wolf chick tell me what to do."

Leah looked at him pleadingly, "You don't understand..."

"...Imprinting? Of course I do. I've been mates with him for years; I know all about it." Lee said jerking his head over to where I was standing.

"Speaking of imprinting..." Jacob trailed off looking at Embry.

I looked at him confused before my eyes widened and I snarled at Embry, close to phasing for the first time since I first showed Lorry my wolf form. Embry was staring down at my daughter with awe splattered over his face. He had imprinted on my daughter.

"Get the hell out now." I snarled quietly, moving over to Reyna and picking her up gently.

"Paul." Lorry said warningly.

Embry glared at me, "You can't keep her from me; she's my imprint!" He exclaimed looking desperate. "Are you sure you're holding her right?"'

"Am I holding her right? Of course I am you idiot; now get out." I snapped, and looked down at her to calm myself.

"Everyone shut up now!" Lorry shouted.

_Lorry P.O.V_

I rubbed a hand to my head and looked at the scene in front of me; Paul was holding our daughter while glaring at the pack crowding the doorway. Lee had shifted so that he was closer to me and further away from Leah who was alternating between glaring at Paul and looking at Lee with awe and love. Embry was too busy to notice the tension in the room, staring at Reyna who was still in Paul's arms.

"Paul, pass me Reyna." I said quietly, well aware that I had everyone's attention.

Paul reluctantly handed her to me and stayed close to my side, eyeing the rest of the pack (mainly Embry). I sighed and looked down at Reyna, smiling softly as her face scrunched up as she had a dream. My eyes jerked up alarmed as there was a crashing; Embry had bolted forward at some point and had his arms stretched out as if to take Reyna from me. Paul had pushed him back and was all but growling at him.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, not loud enough to wake Reyna but enough to get their attention.

Everyone froze and looked at me, "This is ridiculous! Paul, get over here now. You," I said, pointing at Embry, "Get the hell away from me and my daughter. I don't care if she's your imprint; I'm her mother and so help me if you come anywhere near her I will slice off your balls." I threatened. "I am extremely tired and sore and I've had enough of werewolves barging in. I almost miscarried because of the lot of you and I will not put up with this shit."

Paul frowned and went to lift up my hospital gown and looked at me pointedly when I slapped his hand away, "I'm checking your stitches; I don't want you having an infection." He said, going in to doctor mode.

I reluctantly let him and when he was satisfied he pulled the gown back down and kissed me. When he pulled away the pack was still there and I began to get frustrated, "Why the hell are you all still here?" I asked annoyed.

"That's my imprint." Leah and Embry said at the same time, only talking about different people.

I narrowed my eyes at them, "I don't give a shit who your imprint is. You get the hell out of here now before I get someone to."

Leah glared at me, "Don't think I'm going to listen to anything you say..."

"If you want anyone to convince Lee to accept that you've imprinted on him then you'll do exactly what I say." I cut in coolly.

Lee snickered despite the fact that we were talking about him, "Paul you should knock her up more often; she's awesome when she's cranky from giving birth."

"Lee shut the hell up or I swear to God everyone will see your fairy drawings." I threatened.

"You promised to keep them a secret!" He whined sounding like a child.

I gave him a look and he fell silent. Leah, I noticed, had moved to the entrance and was staring at Lee with a pained expression. I smiled at her reassuringly and then she was gone. I sighed and turned my attention to Embry who, at some point, had moved closer and was staring down at Reyna like he wanted to kidnap her.

I glared at him, "You get the hell out now. I don't care whether or not you imprinted on her; she's my daughter. I am well aware that you were one of the men that came to my house and all but held me there when I needed to go to hospital. You're not going to be coming anywhere near her. Now leave."

Embry looked at me dumbfounded, "You can't keep me from her." He argued weakly.

"Like hell I can't." I snapped, "Get out." When he didn't move I turned to Paul, "Can you get security or something?"

Embry sighed and left, Jacob following him after a final look at Paul.

A/N thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming!


	16. Chapter 16

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Sixteen

I sighed tiredly as I rested my head back against the fluffed up pillows and considered my chances of sneaking out of bed and out to the nursery where my little girl was. I was still stuck in bed, the doctors keeping me an extra day just in case I developed an infection across my stitching. I was going home today but I wouldn't be discharged until the afternoon.

Reyna had been brought to my room for her morning feed but when the nurses saw that I was tired they took her back to the nursery much to my annoyance and agitation. I didn't want my daughter to be looked after by a complete stranger even if they were qualified to look after her. I wanted to be the one who watched her as she slept and soothe her when she was upset.

Paul chuckled when he saw my agitated expression as they wheeled Reyna away and had told me that she would be fine. He didn't even flinch when I glared at him; it wasn't my fault that I was worried about my daughter being away from me. I didn't know any of these people; how could I not worry? What if someone dropped her? What if she was cold or crying and she was ignored?

I took a deep breath and calmed myself before I did try and sneak out of my room. Paul was back at work for a while but he had a week off on paternity leave. Every chance he got he walked past my room to check on me and I knew that if I left and he did walk past to find me gone he would go crazy. Having a werewolf crazy and worried was not a good thing especially in a hospital.

A knock on the door caught my attention and I straightened, hoping it wasn't another nurse back to prod at my stitches. I recognized the woman as one of the carers for the babies. "Is everything ok?" I asked worriedly.

"Your little girl's perfectly fine. Are you expecting any family to come by?" She asked sounding nervous.

I frowned and shook my head, "Paul's doing some work today and the only other person that could be coming around is at work as well. Why?"

"There's someone who keeps looking at your daughter and he keeps insisting that he's family. He wanted to hold her but without your permission we don't let anyone near her." The nurse said reassuringly.

"I'd like for her to be brought down here please." I said immediately, knowing that it would be Embry who was looking at her.

She nodded and left to bring her. I sat anxiously in my bed waiting for Reyna to arrive and as the minutes ticked by I began to get increasingly nervous. What was taking her so long? All she had to do was wheel the bed down the hall and into my room. Had Embry interfered? Just as I was about to get out of bed the nurse arrived looking flustered and arguing heavily with someone.

"You are not allowed to hold or touch her." The nurse all but shouted.

"I'm allowed. I'm good friends with the father of the baby." Someone insisted sounding desperate.

I sat up straighter as the nurse wheeled the baby over looking stressed. I immediately took Reyna in my arms, glaring at the tall figure behind the nurse; Embry was looking down at the bundle in my arms desperately. I thanked the nurse and she eyed Embry before she left, leaving the bed beside mine. Embry moved closer once the nurse had disappeared but stopped when my glare intensified.

"You stay where the hell you are." I snarled.

Embry sighed frustrated and began to get angry, "Why can't you just let me near her? She's my imprint!" He said exasperatedly. "I have a right..."

"That is where you are very wrong." I said coldly, "You have no right. I don't care if you're her imprint. You and your buddies are the reason that Paul had to run away from his family. If I have it my way you will never see her."

"You can't be serious." He shouted. "That's my imprint; don't you want her to be happy?"

"Of course I do but I also want Paul to be happy." I snapped back, gently rocking Reyna as she started to whimper, "You tormented him for years. He will never get over that."

Embry sighed, "It wasn't just me that did it, alright? We never thought he took it seriously..."

"So it was just some fun for you guys? Tormenting him? Teasing him? Making beats on how easily you could get him to phase? That's disgusting." I snapped.

"I'm sorry, alright?" He exclaimed, "What more do you want me to do? Beg?"

"That would be a good start." I said shortly.

He glared at me but didn't respond when he noticed that Paul had walked in, "What the hell are you doing here?" He snapped.

"It's fine Paul. I was just explaining to Embry that there's no chance in hell of him coming near Reyna." I said cheerfully.

Embry looked desperate and turned to Paul and dropped to his knees, "I'm sorry for being an ass and tormenting you. Please, let me be with my imprint!"

I looked down at shock and so did Paul. He backed away looking at me with wide eyes. Embry was still at his feet spitting out whatever he could say, "Will you shut up?" Paul said looking slightly freaked out.

"She won't let me near my imprint and she said I had to beg so that you would let me be near her..."

"I said that you needed to beg first." I cut in correcting him. Paul raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged, "He's not getting away with things that easily."

Paul chuckled, "Let him hold her Lorry. Trust me, he's going to have a lot of strict rules for when Reyna's old enough to date."

"Which we'll both decide upon later and make him sign a damned contract." I grumbled, reluctantly handing Reyna over to Embry who looked like Christmas had come early.

He looked down at her in awe, "She's so little." He said, sighing contently and sat in the chair next to the bed holding her carefully.

I watched him frantically but relaxed when Paul ran a hand through my hair soothingly, "Maybe we can make him do diaper duty." He winked at me.

I laughed and Embry's face lit up eagerly, "I'll do diaper duty!"

"Yeah, he says that now." I muttered to Paul, "Have you seen Lee?"

He shook his head, glancing over my charts briefly, "He kind of bolted out of the house this morning when I tried to talk to him about Leah." He scratched his head, "Now that I think about it he looked kind of terrified."

"That's probably because Leah was waiting for him outside the house." Embry piped up, turning for a moment to look at us before his attention went back to the baby in his arms. "She ignored what you told her and spent the run home planning on how to convince that guy to listen to her and het him away from you."

Paul sighed, "Typical Leah."

"She's not going to get very far..." I began and stopped when the door flew open, Leah looking at me hysterically.

"He won't listen to anything I say!" She shouted waking Reyna up.

Embry panicked as the baby in his arms howled and he reluctantly handed her to me, "If you don't sit your arse down and stop hovering I'll have you thrown out of the room." I threatened and turned to Leah, "That's your problem that Lee won't speak to you. If you had of waited until he'd spoken to me and allowed me to tell him the good side to imprinting, which he already knows of course, he'd be a lot easier to deal with. But don't you dare barge into this room screaming while my daughter is asleep again, got it?"

Leah blushed and looked a embarrassed, running a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry. I never thought I'd imprint and..." She cut off, well aware of Paul and Embry's giant presence in the room.

"Boys get out now." I ordered, giving Paul a kiss and a glare at Embry, "Leave or the only time you'll ever spend with her is during diaper duty."

Embry gulped audibly and bolted from the room leaving Leah staring after him stunned. She looked back at me in amazement, "You have him under control already."

"You've got to start early with them." I joked and looked at her seriously, "Sit down, we've got some talking to do."

A/N sorry its been so long! I felt guilty writing when I should have been studying for my exams and then I got writers block but I'm back now. I've got another story lined up and this one is almost done so read and review people!


	17. Chapter 17

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Seventeen

Leah reluctantly sat in the chair that Embry had previously occupied and I adjusted Reyna in my arms, glad that she was now sleeping peacefully with one hand curled up beside her head. I studied Leah for a moment, watched how she fidgeted and twisted in the seat that she was in. I took pity on her and gave her a friendly smile.

"If you keep approaching Lee with the demand of being with you because he's your imprint, he's just going to run." I stated, knowing Lee's track record with girls.

Leah glared at me, "What else am I supposed to do?" She snapped and got up and began pacing around the room, "All of the other guys had it so easy; they just told their imprints the truth and they accepted it without drama. I want that but instead I imprinted on a guy who already knows about imprinting and is apparently a little man whore." Leah ranted.

"Lee's always been a little…wild." I said, choosing the word to describe Lee carefully. "He may not act like he wants a relationship but he does, he just always seems to attract girls that have a one track mind and that being sex." I told her, "And now that there's someone who he can have that relationship with he's terrified because he doesn't know what that means." I explained.

"I do so!"

I shook my head, knowing that Lee had been standing at the door listening since Leah had began ranting, "Of course you don't. You've never been in a relationship before Lee and you can't use mine and Paul's as an excuse." I said looking at him pointedly.

"Why not?" He whined, "I've had to listen to all your arguments and then hear the make-up sex. That counts as a relationship."

Leah gaped at him for a moment before turning to me, "Is he being serious?"

"It's not like he joined in on the make-up sex!" I said defensively, "He lived with us; he's Paul's best friend and we both worked at the same school so it was easier."

"You've never been in a proper relationship?" Leah asked him with raised eyebrows.

Lee scratched his head, "Define 'proper'."

"I mean, as having been with someone for longer than a one night stand and longer than a month." Leah elaborated with her hands on her hips.

Lee thought for a moment and then shrugged, "Yeah I haven't been with someone for anything else other than a one night stand."

Leah turned to me in shock, "Is he being serious?"

I nodded, "I'm afraid so. I told you, he attracts the bimbo type normally." I gave her a desperate look, "Please for the sake of us all, take pity on him and date him."

"Hey! I can get my own werewolf girlfriend thank you very much." Lee said indignantly and blanched when he realized Leah was waiting for him to talk. He ran a hand through his hair nervously and stuttered out, "Did…you w-wanna go out…sometime?"

Leah beamed at him, "Sure, why don't we go get something to eat now?" She suggested but before he could answer she linked her arm through his and began leading him out of the room, throwing a grateful smile over her shoulder.

I leaned back against the pillows thoroughly amused by Lee; I knew already that Leah wasn't going to let him get away with half the things he was used to getting away with. They were certainly perfect for each other and she was exactly what Lee needed.

I gently placed Reyna in the cot beside my bed and waited until she was sleeping soundly before I leaned back against the pillows once again, closing my eyes and relishing in the peace and quiet that had finally graced my room. Having a bunch of people come in and out since Reyna was born was finally having an effect on me; I was exhausted and Reyna wasn't even a fussy baby. She cried mostly when she was hungry and whimpered slightly whenever she needed a change but aside from that she was happy to lie peacefully in mine or Paul's arms and look up at us.

I groaned when there was a knock on the door and opened one eye to see who it was. I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see Jared standing at the door awkwardly with Kim next to him. I tensed waiting for some type of verbal attack when Embry pushed past and went straight to Reyna.

"Do not pick her up." I told him firmly, "She's just gotten back to sleep and I want her to get used to sleeping in a cot."

Embry pouted and finally sat down next to the cot, smiling contently down at her, "She's so little."

"She was a week premature." I admitted looking down at my daughter. She looked so much like Paul.

"She looks like Paul." Jared said softly, looking down at her.

"Did you have her naturally?" Kim asked hesitantly, looking between her husband and me.

I shook my head, "The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck so they had to perform an emergency C-section before she died."

"I would have been terrified." Kim shuddered and clutched Jared's hand.

"I was terrified but Paul was there and medical stuff is his department." I said with a shrug and asked, "Do you have any kids?" I quickly changed the topic from Paul, noticing Jared tensing at the brief mention of his former pack brother.

"We have a three year old daughter, Cassie." Kim said, smiling fondly, "She has a play date with Sam and Emily's son."

"Sam, one of the guys who barged into Paul's mum's house and almost made me miscarry?" I said coolly.

Jared clenched his jaw, "Where's Paul?"

"Yes, where is Paul?" A new voice asked.

I looked over to the entrance, my eyes narrowing in to a glare as I realized that it was Sam who was at my door, a pretty woman with scars down one side of her face next to him. Sam was standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest, his face void of emotion.

"He's working." I said through clenched teeth, "Now get the fuck out of this room." I said coldly.

Neither of them moved to leave the room and Emily hesitantly came closer and peered into the cot, "What did you call her?"

"Reyna and its lucky I was able to call her anything at all considering you shit wipe of a husband almost made me miscarry." I said coldly.

Emily backtracked to Sam and took his hand, rubbing soothing circles on his palm, "I just want to know where Paul is…" Sam began and I cut him off.

"So you can demand he stay and pay for what he did?" I asked angrily, "Go back to teasing and tormenting him until he phases from anger?"

Sam barely batted an eyelid, "This is not your concern."

"It sure as hell is my concern. Paul left his parents, ran away from home all because you wouldn't, couldn't, let him go to university and study medicine. This is your fault that he left; one of your so called brothers was miserable and you let it happen." I seethed, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "So don't you dare come in here and act like Paul murdered someone because his leaving was your fault!"

Everyone was silent for a moment before Embry whistled lowly, "Damn, I'm never doing anything to piss you off." Embry muttered. "Don't ever ask me for things you're not allowed kid or your momma's going to kill me."

"And don't you forget it either." I told him with a smirk.

A/N there's going to be Paul and Sam meeting next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews so far. Keep it up!


	18. Chapter 18

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Chapter Eighteen

_Paul P.O.V_

I glanced towards the maternity ward for what felt like the millionth time in less than an hour. I wanted nothing more than to be in Lorry's room looking down at our daughter and imprinting her to my memory. She was tiny and I knew that she would end up being the same height as her mother and I hoped desperately that she inherits Lorry's bright green eyes.

I snapped the folder in front of me shut and sighed, heading slowly towards the cancer department where my Dad had been checked in. I had been in a few times since we had arrived but I had been too worried about Lorry's health to bring her to meet him. I had taken several pictures of her and the baby for him to see but I knew it was only a matter of days before he passes.

I was almost at his room when Carlisle approached me, a sad look on his face and I knew it had happened. I stopped walking and sighed, "Was he in much pain?" I asked quietly.

"No, he passed in the night. His nurse only just found him." Carlisle said gently, "Why don't you go see Lorry?" He suggested, taking my patient list, "I'll cover you."

"Thanks." I said, smiling faintly and slowly made my way back towards Lorry's room.

I ignored the nurses looking at me as I passed, focused only on one thing and one thing only and that was getting to Lorry. As I got to her room I heard her practically shouting at someone inside and I wondered if Embry had pissed her off again.

"...your fault that he left; one of your so called brothers was miserable and you let it happen. So don't you dare come in here and act like Paul murdered someone because his leaving was your fault!"

Cautiously I entered her doorway and I discovered immediately who she was talking to; Sam and Emily were standing in front of her bed silently. I was gaping at my tiny wife, feeling so much love for her than normal.

Someone whistled lowly and then I realised it was Embry, "Damn, I'm never doing anything to piss you off." He muttered. "Don't ever ask me for things you're not allowed kid or your momma's going to kill me."

"And don't you forget it either." She said, sounding smug.

I couldn't help myself; I burst out laughing. Sam and Emily whirled around in shock but I was too busy laughing; I don't know whether I was laughing because of the situation or if the whole day had become one jumbled piece of crap. I ignored Sam and made my way to Lorry, the reality of my father's death hitting me and I all but collapsed on the other chair next to her bed, resting my head on the side of her bed.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." I chanted over and over, the words becoming a jumbled mess.

"Paul, what's wrong? What happened?" She asked panicked, rubbing a hand gently through my hair.

I lifted my head up so I could rest it in my hands. "He's gone." I said softly.

"Oh shit." I heard Embry mutter but I ignored him, taking one of Lorry's pale white hands in my own.

"I should go tell Mom." I said, feeling dazed, "She needs to be told before she comes in for a visit. She'll freak if she sees the room empty. I need to...go...and tell her." I rambled, standing quickly and realizing for the first time that Jared and Kim were in the room as well. "What's going on? What are you all doing here?"

"Well they're all here waiting for you." Embry said gesturing to Jared and Sam, "I'm just here to babysit."

"We don't need a babysitter." I argued, and went around to the other side of the crib to pick Reyna up.

"How come he gets to pick her up?" Embry whined.

Lorry sighed exasperatedly, "He can pick her up because he's the father. You are just the werewolf who imprinted on her."

"That should earn me picking up rights." He argued and then realised who he was talking to. "I'll be quiet."

Lorry smirked and turned back to me, her features softening, "Maybe you should wait a while before you go home." She suggested calmly as if she hadn't been shouting at a werewolf moments before I entered the room.

I looked down at Lorry before settling down in the other sea beside her bed. Reyna let out a little whine as I shifted into a comfortable position and after lightly rocking her she settled back into a deep sleep. I tried to keep my attention on Reyna and Lorry but the presence of Sam and Jared was too hard to ignore. I let out another sigh and looked up at them tiredly.

"I don't have the energy to put up with whatever crap you've come to throw at me. Yes, I left the pack and no, I don't regret doing it either. If you hadn't been such a dick about it all I could have gone to a university closer and come back to help the pack out on weekends. Get over it." I said looking at Sam before turning my attention to Jared, "I didn't want to lie to you but I did; I'm sorry."

Both Sam and Jared looked at me with shock and unease having never dealt with me while I was this calm. It didn't take Sam long to recover, the air around him changing as he shifted into alpha mode but it didn't affect me like I thought it was. He hadn't done the right thing for one of his pack and even though I should feel the command of the alpha I didn't; I knew that the wolf in me had rejected him as my alpha.

Sam seemed to recognise that as well, "You're right." He said quietly, surprising the hell out of me. "I knew the moment we realised you had gone that we had lost you in our pack. And you're right, it is my fault. I knew well before we became werewolves that you wanted to study medicine but I didn't want to watch you or anyone else leave the pack while I couldn't. For what it is worth I'm sorry." He said and he and Emily left taking with them some of the tension in the room.

I turned my attention to Jared and waited for the verbal bashing that I was sure was coming my way. Instead he shrugged, "I get why you did it man. If I had your intelligence I'd probably do the same thing. Besides," He smirked, "I've already punched you."

I chuckled lightly and Embry scoffed, "This is worse than watching a chick flick." He muttered.

Jared promptly whacked Embry over the head before coming to stand next to me, looking down at Reyna, "Cute kid." He said and looked over at Lorry with hesitance, "Er...hi, I'm Jared."

Lorry, who had yet to say anything, blinked and shook her head, "It's nice to know that all werewolves have the weird thing going for them. I'm Lorelai." She looked over at Kim who was still standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway, "Embry, move your ass and let Jared's wife sit down." She said in a scalding tone, already sounding like a mother.

_Lorelai P.O.V_

Embry grumbled but did as she said, knowing that she would decide how much time he could spend with our daughter. Kim blushed and thanked him, sitting in the seat that he had previously occupied. She was still watching Jared as he interacted with Paul, the two old friends talking to each other quietly, beginning to repair their friendship.

"So should we be expecting anyone else?" I asked Kim quietly.

She shrugged, "There's still a chance that Quil could come and then there's Seth." Kim said with a grin.

"They can't be worse than dealing with Leah and Lee." I muttered.

Kim leaned forward interested, "Lee's the imprint, right?"

"Yeah, he didn't handle it very well. And I think Leah's enthusiasm about it all scared the crap out of him." I laughed.

"We were so surprised when we found out she imprinted." Kim said softly, "She's been so bitter for years because of Sam and being the only female in the pack made things harder for her."

Paul had told me about Sam leaving Leah for Emily, her cousin, after he imprinted. I couldn't imagine what that would be like; loving someone for so many years and then watching them leave you for your cousin. What I thought was worse was that Leah could hear the thoughts of Sam when she phased and I couldn't imagine how hard it had been for her.

I glanced over at Paul and smiled at how relaxed Paul was, holding his daughter and laughing with his friend. Moving here had been hard and I couldn't help but wonder what Paul would be like if we hadn't returned to La Push and how long the pull for his hometown would haunt him before he caved and returned.

I shoved these thoughts from my mind knowing that, at last, Paul was freer than he had ever been. He no longer had the air about him that he was a stranger amongst his own friends and was no longer haunted by the guilt of leaving his family and lying to his friends. La Push was quickly becoming home for him again and it was for me as well.

A/N Next chapter will be an epilogue. Sorry for the long break; I've been going through the freedom of finishing high school. Read and Review!


	19. Chapter 19

I own nothing apart from Lorelai and the plot

Epilogue

_Lorelai P.O.V_

It had been three years since Paul and I had moved to La Push and a year since Reyna was born. In fact, today was her third birthday and the entire pack, with their respective imprints and kids, had gathered at the beach to celebrate her birthday. Embry, especially, had gone to extreme lengths to ensure all was taken care of, still thoroughly scared of me.

We hadn't always been able to come together like this, the tension between Paul and other pack members, not to mention Sam, was awkward and I would barely manage to control my temper around some of the guys that would comment snidely about Paul abandoning the pack.

In fact, it had been Leah and Jared that smoothed the tension and I could see Paul slowly trusting his past pack mates. If it hadn't been for Leah imprinting on Lee, seeing how important Paul was to her imprint, than I doubt that we would be able to celebrate together like this.

Together, Lee and Leah had organized a small gathering at their house, not bothering to tell us that the rest of the pack would be there and vice versa. We had shown up and were not received well by the guys, minus Jared and Embry.

Some of the guys had started grumbling and glaring at us, stopping only when Lee shouted at the lot of us, "If you don't start getting along soon I'm going to deliberately fuck up Leah's pill packet so that she is constantly having her period and the lot of you can deal with her when she's moody and missing me!"

That had certainly gotten our attention and Jared, after looking at Lee amusedly, took the chance to get his word in, "You're all acting like a bunch of douche bags," He began, holding his hands over his daughters ears when he swore, "What's done is done and there's no use glaring at each other." He was silent for a moment before wincing, "That and I really don't want to deal with Leah while she's on her period."

"Jared!" Kim hissed, looking at her husband horrified.

He grinned at her innocently and yelped when Leah whacked him up the head, glaring heatedly at him, "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what it's for." Leah snarled.

"He said exactly the same thing." Jared protested, pointing over at a smirking Lee.

Leah's eyes softened as they fell on to her imprint, "He's allowed to."

"Yeah, I'm allowed to." Lee said, poking his tongue out at Jared.

While this didn't miraculously fix everything between us it certainly cleared the way for allowing all of us to move past it. It had taken time, but it was worth the struggle especially seeing the pack members beaming down at little Reyna who had definitely inherited a pack of uncles.

A pair of arms encircled my waist and Paul rested his chin on top of my head, "I told Embry you'd put laxatives in his food if Reyna got so much as a scratch, not to mention fall in the water." He said and I could hear the grin in his voice.

I snickered, "It's kind of sad that you use me as the threat against the werewolf."

"No, it's kind of sad that using you as the threat against the werewolf works." Paul murmured in my ear, kissing the skin beneath my ear.

I sighed in content, leaning back against him, "I have something to tell you." I said quietly, looking down at Paul's fingers which were crossed over my stomach.

"What?" Paul asked, sounding calm but I could detect the panic in his words.

"I'm pregnant." I murmured, placing my hands over Paul's.

Behind me he stiffened but before I had a chance to begin to panic he whirled me around, his eyes bright with excitement and love, "Really? How far along are you? When did you find out? Are you feeling alright?" He asked, his voice quickly melting into concern as his eyes trailed over my body looking for signs of distress.

I laughed tracing my hand through his hair, "Yes really; I'm only a month along. I did a pregnancy test yesterday when I realized my period was late. I haven't had any symptoms yet but I'm sure the morning sickness will start." I said grimacing at the memory of morning sickness.

"You're pregnant." Paul whispered, and leant down to kiss me heatedly.

"Daddy!"

Paul pulled back and swooped down to pick up Reyna as she ran to us. Her hair was past her shoulders now and her fringe was pulled back by a bright pink headband that Leah had gotten her for her Christmas. She was proudly sporting her number 3 birthday badge that had been pinned over her purple birthday dress.

"Auntie Emily says it's almost time for cake." She said beaming excitedly, wrapping her little arms around Paul's neck, "But I told her that we couldn't have cake until everyone had had some fruit." She told him seriously.

Paul and I both smiled at each other; Paul being the doctor that he was had ensured that his daughter would always eat healthily and properly telling her that it was only time for eating sweets on a Friday after dinner but she had to have a piece of fruit before.

Needless to say Embry was not too happy of this rule but stuck with it to keep his little imprint happy.

Paul looked down at me while Reyna chatted with Embry who had come to stand with us, "Should we tell her?"

I bit my lip, "I think it's best if we wait until tomorrow." I said softly, "Let her have today."

Paul nodded in agreement and walked over to where Emily had prepared the cake, all three candles already lit. Reyna beamed as everyone sang happy birthday to her and took a deep breath to blow out each candle. She smiled brighter, if it were possible, as I snapped pictures of her and Paul together.

I looked around at the people around us, people who I never dreamed I would become friends with. I had been so worried about Paul coming here and it was now that I realize he would never have truly been happy unless he had made peace with the people here.

Now he could finally be at peace.

A/N so the story has finally ended. Sorry for such a long break. I'm not sure if I'm going to post another story but it might be a while before I do. I have a plan for another but I may just leave it or do one for True Blood. Thanks for all the reviews since I have started this story.


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